Dragon Ball Muyo! Shift of Hearts
by Instant Classic Superstar Pac
Summary: DBZ & Tenchi Muyo crossover. When several factors combine to intertwine two worlds, Hell literally opens, an unholy alliance forms, and one returning Saiyan discovers his better half. Steady development, Ryoko/Raditz. Ch 26: the Madri Scholar has a plan, Seventeen shows off his power.
1. The Scholar’s Prophecy

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Prime Legend Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar, no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: I like to consider all animes/etc. as realms of one big universe. In my "realm naming system", the realm of Tenchi Muyo! is the No Need realm, and all series are combined together. I'll even go on to create a reason behind Tenchi's immediate family is not in the Jurai royal lineage as of Tenchi In Tokyo. And obviously, the realm of the Dragon Ball/Z/GT/etc. sagas is the Dragon Ball realm. This is so that the crossover effect can be explained… somewhat. Oh, and if anyone notices any mess-ups in the TM storyline (because it hasn't shown up in such a long time, which the only reason I'm even _giving_ a recap), or in my little continuation of Tenchi In Tokyo, please tell me.

P.S. Chapter's been edited from what you saw the first three days of this story, because its former style had the potential to produce devastating confusion.

**Chapter 1: The Scholar's Prophecy.**

It was the last day of the school year at Orange Star High School, about a year or so since the end of the evil Kid Buu. Peace had reigned over the universe since then. They had the "benevolent cross" Majin Buu's Babidi memories erased from the rest of the earth about six months ago, and things were going great. Gohan and Videl stayed together, and eventually became the Saiyaman & Saiyagirl superhero tag team in West City, with the approval (which was practically fought for due to the ridiculous Saiyaman costume layout) of their family and friends. Everything was actually more orderly than before, except for the occasional crook a week, which called for the equally occasional secret identity switch. But things were actually better now for them since Hercule got his brain out from underneath his arrogant backside a little more. A few minutes ago, Gohan and Videl had already promised to meet with Erasa and Sharpner for what would be the last time until they ran into each other again or the next school year started. Unfortunately, they ran into an unexpected visitor while making their exit from the campus to meet their friends.

"Hey, you two!" a voice suddenly called to the couple, stopping them in their traps. The two looked back, and saw that the person calling them was a very weird looking man. The stranger was dressed in what seemed to be a druid/priest like costume, with a large black bucket-like hat on his head and a red and orange druid robe. They saw his face and presumed that he must be in his upper twenties or something. The two looked to each other momentarily, before turning back to that guy with weirded out looks on their faces. They were both asking themselves what someone would be doing here looking like some kind of priest.

"Excuse me, but… could you tell us who you are?" Gohan asked while shuddering a little bit in his mind.

"Gladly. You're the ones I came to inform anyway," the stranger began. "After all, you two are probably the most sensible ones of your entire gang, and thus the most suitable ones to introduce your big, happy Z family to a little secret."

"A little secret? Why would we want to know one of your secrets?" Videl asked, a frown starting to develop on the tough gal's face.

"Don't consider it one of my secrets. It actually is one of your own, that you all have yet to discover," the person explained, going on to give the confused couple a warning immediately afterwards. "Before I tell you anything about the exact secret itself, you need to learn the basics. And the basics are as follows: your science classes may claim they're studies of the universe, but you are not studying the entire universe. You are merely within one dimension, one realm of the universe. And there are so many others you have no idea about. However, you might soon be encountered with visitors from one of them, which is my reason for coming here. I want to teach you all the vital information about your new friends."

"Okay, what are you talking about? There are no such things as alternate realms," Videl stated. In their science classes, nothing was ever said about any alternate realm theories. In fact, someone actually mentioned that in a daydream and got mocked for the rest of the period. So what was up with this guy.

"That's what you think. If there weren't, then I wouldn't be here," the guy revealed, to the surprise of the two couples. "Now, each of these realms contains several characters whose lives are very similar to yours, but at the same time very different. This realm is known as the Dragon Ball realm, the name obviously coming from the Dragon Balls that are here. The realm that is about to visit you, due to the certain visitors' ridiculous, inexplicable and unnecessary art of revolving around a specific one Tenchi Masaki, has been dubbed the No Need realm."

"Are you kidding me?" Videl asked, as she was starting to think this was ridiculous.

"The No Need realm? Couldn't you come up with a better name than that?" Gohan followed suit, stunned at the degrading name the other realm had been given.

"Actually, no. Because I don't come up with those names. They practically attach to each realm the minute it is discovered. But come on! Do you want me to bother myself with those details instead of telling you who they are?" the Madri Scholar explained in building frustration.

"No, but… wait a minute. Who are you?" Gohan asked, his expression suddenly turning serious.

"You're concerned I'm one of the villains you've met in your life trying to feed you gobbledygook? Well, since you need a name, just call me… the Madri Scholar, all-seeing eye in the universe." he finally revealed. Gohan became a little calmer after that, but was not quite sure about this guy. "And I don't think you need to bother introducing yourselves to me. Now, before I get to telling you how exactly the No Need realm has anything to do with you, let us first focus on the history of the people of those realm. First of all, the No Need realm features a young man named Tenchi Masaki, as well as six young alien females, two of which have fallen in love with him. Unfortunately for the effects, he has not fallen in love with any of them. Washu Hakubi is one of the three godlike Chousin sisters of that realm's existence, as well as a brilliant lady who can often be considered "the woman beyond eccentric", though her official nickname is "the Greatest Scientist in the Universe"."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Videl shot, which along with a hand stuck in his face, stopped the Madri Scholar in his tracks. "Stop rushing this into our heads. Let us get this. Now, we're going to have to pop in and ask questions so that we can get this stuff. And I thought I was done doing that since about ten minutes ago. School's out now! What's the deal?"

"Shut up!" the Madri Scholar exclaimed, finally stopping her complaints. "Washu has been looked down upon by fellow scientists for building weapons of mass destruction, among other things. She has a daughter named Ryoko, who she basically created herself, and whose power is held in three gems designed by Washu. Unfortunately, Ryoko and Washu were taken by a humanoid villain of extreme cunning named Kagato, who froze Washu in stasis and forced Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki, Ryoko's pet cabbit, also created by Washu, into a life of crime. While Washu and Ryoko do not look very different in age, you can still tell in a way that she is her mother. Because of the severity of the crimes, the Galaxy Police, whose name speaks for itself, has classified Ryoko a Class A Criminal, and has pursued her for a long time. Unfortunately, the officers often on their case, Kiyone Mabiki and Mihoshi Kuramitzu, have failed to catch her because Mihoshi is more of a bumbling airhead than anything else. Meanwhile, Yosho, the crowned prince of planet Jurai, was the one whose chase finally succeeded in the capture of Ryoko, after Kagato sent her to attack Jurai.

"Ryoko being captured and sealed by Yosho in a cave near the shrine, Yosho choosing to live there as if an ordinary human, Kiyone and Mihoshi's reassignment to earth, and basically what you could call a simultaneous series of crash landings, are among the circumstances whose result was all six alien women - including Yosho's sisters, Princess Ayeka and Princess Sasami - landing at the place of the Masaki household: 17-year-old high school student Tenchi, his father Nobuyuki, and his grandfather Katsuhito, who was actually Yosho running under a different identity. As the chases continued, Tenchi and his family finally had to let the five alien women into their home, leading to even stranger circumstances. Washu was not involved in this chase business, because she was frozen until Mihoshi accidentally freed her in the confrontation with the first of the Kagatos. Periodically, Kiyone and Mihoshi would continue on as GP officers, though they never tried much at all to arrest Ryoko. Sasami became the cute little cook of the house, whose only weakness in that regard was coffee. Other than that, her cooking rivals the rest of the world. Sasami, while nine years old in appearance, was also much wiser than she looked. Ryoko and Ayeka were the two that fell madly in love with Tenchi, and their rivalry continued with that fact to intensify it. Each one's attempts to garner Tenchi's attention in her own way - Ryoko via uncouth seduction, Ayeka much more courteously and somewhat pompously - failed miserably, as they often intercepted each other, and Tenchi was weirded out by the whole thing. This would often lead to many fights which caused chaos around the shrine."

Videl and Gohan both looked quite lost, but Videl did grasp the main details and managed to get the Madri Scholar to stop by sticking her hand in his face and telling him to hold it one sec. She then turned to Gohan and explained the gist of it.

"Some alien women all landed by fate into the area of a seventeen-year-old kid's home and shrine, and they're now living at his house. Two of them are in love with him and can't help but fight all over the place about it. Is that clear enough for you, Gohan?"

"Actually… yeah, that helps," Gohan said, after it started to become clear. Actually, the weirdness of this guy caused him to lose focus, which is why he didn't do the same thing Videl did with this information.

"Good. Now you can continue. Oh, and Gohan? Try not to digest every piece of this. Just the important, main-idea stuff," Videl advised her boyfriend. (wait, can we call them that right now?)

"Actually, thank you Videl. I needed that little break. And I needed him to stop looking lost," the Madri Scholar said, stopping to acknowledge Videl before moving on. "Even more powerful battles than that were the ones against two villainous characters both named Kagato. First was the battle with the cunning humanoid Kagato, who I mentioned as the one that kidnapped Ryoko and the still-frozen Washu in the past. Once he was able to sense that Ryoko was back, he came down to take her back and kidnap Ayeka, Sasami, and Yosho. He saw Tenchi's sword, which he knew to have incredible power, and only took Ryoko, whose slave link to him caused her to return to his side. Confrontation on battleships would ensue between Kagato and the gang, but they failed to win the day, and Tenchi was defeated, and half of his body destroyed. Fueled by her love for Tenchi and anger at his apparent destruction, Ryoko finally broke from Kagato's psychic bond, bringing forth the rematch. Upon his body's revival, Tenchi and Kagato had a much tougher battle. Tenchi was able to unlock a legendary power called the Lighthawk Wings, following which he defeated Kagato. Once back from the battle, Washu set up her mega-laboratory entrance at a closet door in the house.

"Several… _minor_ situations followed. Ayeka and Sasami's father Ayuza, the Emperor of Jurai, fully disapproved of their wanting to stay with Tenchi, and underestimated their abilities, leading to his chosen suitor being embarrassed beyond his silly pretty-boy appearance. Mistaken attempts by Washu's Chousin sister Tokimi to bring Washu to her and to monitor the Masaki household resulted in Ryoko's emotions having a deeper release, as well as almost caused the destruction of the No Need realm."

"Okay, that I can fully get. So they faced some bad guys, just like we did," Gohan said. Though he wouldn't say that the nature of this part is exactly why he got it. "They are very alike, and very different, from us."

"Good, you're getting it. Now can I tell you about the second Kagato?" the Madri Scholar asked.

"Go ahead. Nothing's stopping you," Videl said in a resigned tone.

"The second Kagato, which turned out to be a Jurian swordsman and Yosho's ambitious former friend who was sometimes referred to as a brother, appeared later and, posing as Yosho, had Ayeka and Sasami arrested for treason in Jurai. The rest of the gang went to Jurai to clear their names as a result. Battle ensued once Katsuhito revealed his identity to Kagato, following which Kagato kidnapped Ayeka. Tenchi went to the place where Kagato wanted to battle him, but was quickly proven inferior. Kagato then decided to kill Ayeka, then end the fight at his leisure, following which an irate Tenchi unlocked the power of his sword and finally defeated him. Other than the Kagatos, Tenchi and co. did fight several others, which had to do with Ayuza and Tokimi, both of whom I mentioned just before the second Kagato, and a rival of Ryoko's named Nagi, who also had a pet cabbit that turned into a spaceship,"

"Turned into a spaceship? I never heard that!" Gohan said in deep surprise.

"I would say it's because you got lost, but I admit I did miss that part," the Madri Scholar admitted. Apparently, he's wise enough to admit the error of his ways. (the following fact is my explanation for the "no Masaki Jurai" thing) "It turns out, Yosho, Tenchi, and Nobuyuki are not recognized as part of the Jurai bloodline anymore. Ayuza wanted to erase them all, but when the second Kagato took power, he erased only the three Masaki men from the lineage records. The fact that they were ever in it was completely forgotten."

"Can you get to the point?" Videl quickly shouted, believing that this small piece of guts was starting to get pointless.

"Are you helping at all? I don't think so!" he shouted back, before both of them calmed down and he continued his chronicling of the Masaki clan. "The next battle seems to have the most influence on today. It seems a girl named Yugi, whose name specifically means "secluded playful child", came back from a deep seclusion with dark intentions, landing on earth, and causing chaos there within Tenchi and co. She was first locked up because her loneliness and imagination powers led her to create her own friends, which almost destroyed Jurai. Thanks to her henchmen, and her shadow-reflection creation Sakuya Kumashiro, she was able to break up the clan into their separate lives once more. Sakuya's name is the one I mention because when Tenchi went to college to get away from it all, he finally found love, in the form of Sakuya. She was roughly similar to Ayeka in looks, but a much more calm and relaxed girl, and a great relief to him compared to the madwomen. Their connection not only helped to sever the ties that bound Tenchi to the girls, but also to de-sever the ties as well. As they all discovered Sakuya's origin, and the henchmen started to become nuisances, things started getting back together, and although Yugi tried covering Sakuya and Tenchi up in a cherry blossom illusion, Sakuya made an un-pressured, conscious decision to let Tenchi go, because his people and planet needed him. She showed what could then be considered more maturity in those seemingly final slivers of time than Ayeka, Ryoko, and Mihoshi combined to show in their entire lives. Consider the fact that Ryoko and Ayeka were two of the four that were millennia older than their seventeen-year-old appearance, and you know that's something."

"Millennia older?" Gohan yelped in surprise yet again. Videl and the Madri Scholar looked at him, noting that it was starting to get a little annoying.

"You're not going to believe it when you see it, so forget I said that, especially if you're going to be surprised at every piece of information," the Madri Scholar added. "Sasami had made friends with her before seeing her dark side. The end is self explanatory. Yugi was proven weak. Cried about not wanting to be in the dark. Sealed in what was once Ryoko's cave, until she gained better control of her powers. That ended up happening… six months ago. Which was also about eight months after she sealed up in the first place. What's more, not only is she living well in the shrine, she's much more reserved about creating her little "friends" than she was before, and she often plays around with Sasami instead. She's also made her first recreation by bringing back Sakuya, Tenchi's first love, allowing him to finally be happy. Washu is still the Greatest Scientist in the Universe by her own rights, Mihoshi is still the airhead standing between Kiyone and a promotion, despite the fact that they have both moved up since the Masaki family extension. Ryoko and Ayeka seem to be reacting very differently to Tenchi and Sakuya's sudden reunion. In fact, their reactions are as different from what I expected of them as they are from each other. I always thought Ryoko would be the dark and jealous one, while a royal princess like Ayeka would be resigned to things not going her way for once. But I guess that's why I should have expected the opposite."

"Wait, but you're saying Yugi's not making terror toys anymore. Right?" Videl asked. Just in case they'd end up having to cross paths somehow, she didn't want to have to deal with recurring monster problems because of some lonely kid's rampant imagination, either as Saiyaman and Saiyagirl or as themselves in the Z Fighter family.

"Well, I can't shape shift, if that counts for anything," the Madri Scholar replied. The only way that could be clear is if he was using that as a version of "no", so they took it as such.

"Good. I don't want to see any destruction," Gohan said. He knew what Videl was thinking, and she was thinking the same thing.

"Destruction would have ensued in your heart eight years ago. If you'd seen Sasami even right after your fight with Cell, you would have liked her. I believe nowadays that effect is reserved for Trunks," the Madri Scholar said, though that statement was just for Gohan's intrigue.

"Wait, that's a joke, right?" asked a weirded out Gohan.

"Actually, no," the Madri Scholar explained matter-of-factly. "Now, to the point of how this has anything to do with you. I've set off a chain of events which by now has resulted in the cabbit Ryo-Ohki being used as a spaceship… and actually chasing nothing. At a moment's notice, the blonde airhead Mihoshi is going to wake up and take the controls, going "ooh what does this button do" and typing down, with no clue, the exact instructions for a dimension jump."

"You do know the odds of that are… 99.9 impossible to say the least, right?" Videl asked, questioning the Scholar's confidence.

"The most unexpected or impossible things have already happened to you, and there are countless examples of 99.9 chances being proven incorrect. So why are you talking like it can't happen again?" the Madri Scholar asked, answering her question with a question of a retort. "Anyway, they're going to see a kind of portal, which looks like a flat, giant One-Star Dragon Ball. They're going to waste so much time that once they dimension-jump from that realm to this realm, the realms will be intertwined somewhat."

"What? But isn't that going to clash with-"

"With anything important? Fortunately, no. None of the key distinct things separating our realm from theirs are in the same place, and so they will not clash. Furthermore, it will make Jurai a new addition to the short list of planets that have not been invaded or destroyed in this realm at the hands of Frieza. And I don't think he deserves to be the most historic figure of all time," the Madri Scholar explained, interrupting Gohan's question because he already knew what would be asked before it was asked. "But back to the odds point, Videl; you are right. The odds are near impossible. However, I have determined that I struck at the exact right moment for the events to happen, if they must. In any case, if I'm right, you should see them soon in the here and now. This realm, this time."

"Speaking of that, could you explain exactly why you want to bring the two realms together?" Gohan asked. As he and Videl looked at each other, they realized that this was probably the telling question as to whether they could trust this guy.

"No reason in particular except I love the idea of crossing realms, particularly these two," the Madri Scholar explained. "Anyway, as wise as I am, I could be wrong about their imminent sighting tomorrow, so I might have just wasted your time and cost you your last chance to hang out with your friends. But, I wouldn't know unless I came to you with this."

Gohan and Videl then looked at one another wondering about this guy one moment more. Except this time, it was a frustrated wonder of how they could have forgotten about Erasa and Sharpner by talking with this goon, when even he didn't even know if what he was saying even meant anything. There was actually a chance that he was doing nothing but wasting their time, and even he recognized that!

"Yeah, thanks a lot. We're going now," Gohan said, in his new disappointed tone, as he began to walk away, finally back on his way off the Orange Star campus.

"Yeah, we have friends to go see," Videl added in full backing of her boyfriend, now officially ticked off at the Madri Scholar. Right as she began walking behind Gohan, Erasa and Sharpner just pulled up in a sweet red convertible.

"I knew you were gonna find something to do to wait for us, but talking to some priest-looking weirdo?" Sharpner asked, making

"Oh, don't worry about that guy. He just came to tell us a crazy story about some friends of his he expects us to see in the morning," Videl said, a smirk coming on her face as Gohan opened the back door, allowing the two of them to enter. She always loved these stupid banter sessions with Sharpner. _I guess that's part of why we're still friends despite me basically throwing him in the water._ "Anyway, let's go! I don't have all that much time before my dad comes crawling in to stop everything, and I'd rather spend these next five hours having fun. Wouldn't you?"

"Agreed. Not that my dad would be so strict. On the other hand, my mom's a killer. I wouldn't hear the end of it if we stayed too late," Gohan added. If it weren't for Hercule's pompousness and Chi-chi's overly strict nature, they'd be able to join the rest of their grade at Sharpner's house for his end-of-the-year party.

"I should have guessed. But, let's make the most of this time we've got," Sharpner suggested as he started the car up, before giving his own try at parent/child relations advice. "You know, you guys are lucky in some ways, and completely lost in other ways, because your parents care so darn much."

As Gohan and Videl looked at him with confused expressions on their faces, Sharpner finally started driving, and they left the high school for what would be the last time in a while.

In the meantime, Vegeta was just finished training (again!) inside the Saiyan spaceship set outside at Capsule Corp. This time, however, it was not about becoming stronger than Goku. Rather, Vegeta's main worry here was about weakening like Gohan did the last time, when seven years passed between now and the rise of Buu. Goku had been far too soft on his own son, but Vegeta had no intention on be so soft on himself… or on his own Super Saiyan prodigy. Little nine-year-old Trunks was still resting up inside the capsule, having been worked to his limits. Vegeta, however, still had little more than enough energy to live the day. Vegeta flew up to the window of his and Bulma's room, and he went in a few split seconds from the exact same time as Bulma walked into the door.

"So, Vegeta. Couldn't resist training, huh?" Bulma asked, the expectation for this to happen clearly exuding from her voice.

"Actually, no," Vegeta honestly answered. "I don't want to grow weak like Gohan did over seven years of not caring about his training. And I certainly hope that that slacker's attitude doesn't catch on to my son."

"Fighting strength. Figures. Sometimes I think that's all you think about," Bulma said, though compared to all the other times she would say this, this time it was just going through the motion of saying it. After all, it used to be true in a way. A year and a half ago, Vegeta did pretty much turn his back on her and everybody just to become strong enough to beat Goku. Bad side to that is the universe was in imminent danger. Good side to that is Hercule knows that he's not the most powerful being in the world now, Gohan's got a new girlfriend, and here's to Majin Buu.

"Think it all you want. You know more than anyone there's something else… or should I say, some_one_," Vegeta said in solemn peace, referring to her.

"I knew it," Bulma said, softly beaming in the happy emotion before toughening up just one small bit. "But come on. You really need to give it a break, at least for five minutes."

"That's more than fine. I'm done for today. I'm not trying to become stronger than Kakarot anymore, I just don't want to become weak and ineffective for when and if trouble comes. I might just be worrying about nothing, I know. But for a true warrior, uncertainty is the only thing that is certain,"

"You know the old arrogant Vegeta that used to irritate me all the time?" Bulma asked. She was glad to cure him of that, so he could be what she knew today. "The only part of that left is that "true warrior" talk that for some reason always comes out of your mouth. But how about we go over to Mount Paoz later today?"

The sound of the name "Mount Paoz" immediately irked Vegeta's curiosity, for he knew that this was where Goku and Gohan, the two allies he knew that were ever capable of being stronger than him, lived. Combine being able to bother them as usual, along with the friendship his son shared with little Goten, as well as Bulma and Chi-chi, and Vegeta really had no reason to say no. "I wouldn't miss an opportunity to meet an old friend. And I also want to bother Gohan about whether or not he's being soft again."

Meanwhile, at the No Need realm, the Masaki clan was traveling through space using Ryo-Ohki as a spaceship. Something had attacked the house a while back, sending Ryoko into the idea of a rash decision of having Ryo-Ohki turn into her spaceship form, then calling everyone to come in, including Yugi and Sakuya. After a while, it seemed like they were searching for an enemy where there was none… until the group looked upon the sight of a ship very similar to Ryo-Ohki.

"So Nagi's back, is she? Let me at her!" Ryoko exclaimed, chomping at the bit to get at her old rival. She immediately recognized the lighter-looking version of Ryo-Ohki as being Ken-Ohki, Nagi's own version of the cat/rabbit/spaceship.

"Calm down, Ryoko. Your only success would be to irritate Lord Tenchi," Ayeka cut in, being the typical pompous princess. And speaking of which, why is it again that we are to tolerate the two irritant douche bags that stole Lord Tenchi from me and almost tore us apart."

"Because Yugi has repented from her offenses and finally gained control of herself, and because Sakuya, as many people would probably agree, is much better for Tenchi than any of us," Washu quickly pointed out. It was strange with Washu. If you looked at her, she had a twelve year old appearance, but it was not that difficult to see somewhere behind it that she was at the same time probably 32 or 42. But being one of the 20-something-centuries-old Chousin goddesses, as well as the universal scientist of intergalactic proportions, is something that you wouldn't know unless you knew her like all of these people did. Then again, each of them did have secrets.

"What? Do you not understand that I am the only one fit to be with Lord Tenchi?" Ayeka yelled, with anger flowing in her voice directed towards the childlike mother figure.

"Yeah, in your own sea of pompous circumstance," Ryoko muttered, though barely loud enough for Ayeka to hear. That was enough to get Ayeka's face beet red, and the purple-haired Jurian princess saw this as an exact reason to try to strangle Ryoko. She took Ryoko about the neck, with a tight grip that left Ryoko temporarily breathless.

"What do you mean, pompous circumstance? I speak the truth! Lord Tenchi should only be occupying himself with me! Not Kid Sakuya sitting next to him, and certainly not you!" was Ayeka's screaming comment along with the fact.

At the sound of those words, Tenchi turned to her with an innocent smile and feint laugh, while Sakuya put her head down in shame, not at herself, but in comical shame at Ayeka, for still not being able to get over the facts. Kiyone doubled over from the incredulous claim, and Washu smacked her own forehead. Even Nobuyuki and Yosho were hearing this, though they made no reactions despite Nobuyuki's attention to Tenchi's happiness and Yosho's wisdom. In fact, it was because of those qualities that they picked no bone with Ayeka about her comments. Yugi, meanwhile, was just staying back and chuckling to herself in the idea. However, a different reaction would be harbored by both Sasami and Ryoko. As Sasami told Ayeka that she was embarrassing herself, Ryoko turned the tide of the stranglehold and threw Ayeka to the ground hard. Mihoshi, who was sleeping on the ground, heard the thud and woke up. Kiyone had to carry her into the ship about a couple of hours back, but now she was full of life and immediately restless. She jumped up to the controls of the Ryo-Ohki ship, asking what do these buttons do (just as the Madri Scholar had predicted) and just randomly typed down anything, blindly ignoring the shouts of disapproval coming from her friends. Eventually, her reckless typing wound up opening what seemed to be a kind of portal. It was large enough to take in almost all of both ships; orange, and with one red star in the middle. The circumstance was great. The sight was so bright it was like another sun, except it did not generate heat to burn people. It just made you want to bask in its glory.

"Okay, Ryoko? What are you up to with this thing?" Nagi's voice reflected from Ken-Ohki's loudspeakers.

"Me? I didn't do that! It was stupid Mihoshi with her stupid typing!" Ryoko shot back via Ryo-Ohki's loudspeakers.

"Hey, why are you calling me stupid?" Mihoshi asked, pointing to herself in confusion.

"Well, you did just type down exactly how to do this thing, and you don't even remember that you typed it, let alone how you did it," Ryoko replied, not using the speakers; she was only talking to Mihoshi. Meanwhile, Ayeka got up to add her two cents in.

"And isn't Ryo-Ohki supposed to be your ship, Ryoko? How do you not know how to do this?"

"Hey, I don't know all the instructions to Ryo-Ohki, just the ones that are important for my space pirating and fighting. I guess I have Kagato to blame for that," Ryoko answered plainly.

"Yeah, don't remind us of either one, especially that cobra Kagato you're talking about. I seriously don't like that guy," Tenchi said, recalling the battles they had with each Kagato. Not many fond memories came out of that.

"Sorry, Tench," Ryoko apologized, though not as melodramatic as she probably would have done back in the past.

Right at that moment, something else happened. Something that was even more breathtaking and all-stopping than the large portal/reflection thingy that Mihoshi released from Ryo-Ohki was the sudden and simultaneous scene of what seemed to be the warping of time and space. This immediately stirred Yugi, who was leaning back against a wall just now. As she opened her eyes, she could clearly see exactly what was going on.

"Mihoshi, do you have any idea what you've done?" Yugi asked her sternly, as the ditzy blonde of the Galaxy Police Force turned to her at the sound of her name.

"No, but I do know that something weird's happening around us while I'm looking at that beautiful reflection outside,"

"That "something weird" happens to be that portal warping time and space all around us! The entire universe could collide together if we don't do something about it!"

"Well, what exactly are we supposed to do?" Ryoko asked, counterproductive as usual.

"So, let me get this straight. You guys typed in something to open this thing, and you have no idea what it is?" was the comment they stopped to hear from Nagi, who was once again using the loudspeakers of her ship.

"Well, that's not the only air-headed thing Mihoshi's done and had no idea about it," Kiyone stated, her voice booming and blaring through space from Ryo-Ohki's loudspeakers.

"You've gotta be kidding me! There's only one guess I can take about what to do from here. We have to enter it and see what it holds inside, or else it could be too late by the time you guys know how to close this thing up! And I don't think this is a black hole. If it was, it would have been sucking us in!" Nagi suggested. Ryoko was wishing that Ken-Ohki would be motivated by his apparent love for Ryo-Ohki to destroy the loudspeakers within him and tell Nagi to shut up, though for once the annoying bounty hunter did come up with a good idea.

Without any warning to the people inside either ship, both Ryo-Ohki and Ken-Ohki tried to go side-by-side and enter together. Although their owners were rivals, the two were in love; a feeling that Nagi, the annoying bounty hunter girl whose only escaped target **ever** was Ryoko, had spent ample time out in space trying to cure Ken-Ohki of. However, as she could see, and as Ryoko just guessed internally, she was unsuccessful, as her ship was crashing into Ryoko's while trying to enter the portal alongside it. Eventually, while driving Nagi and all the people inside Ryo-Ohki dizzy, the two made it across the portal. They ended up getting out at the exact same place, the ships going out of control as they went towards Earth. The solar system seemed to be slightly fuller, Yosho barely noticed. But that became a moot point, as the ships separated and were about to crash land right back to Earth. However, while Ryo-Ohki was headed towards land, Ken-Ohki was going towards water.

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Goku: "Hey, everyone! Goku here! In the next chapter, Chi-Chi, Goten and I make our first appearance in this story, and things are bound to get really crazy when we're met by several unexpected visitors! What? Gohan, you knew about these people and you didn't tell anyone?"

-Gohan: "Actually, yes and no. Anyway, don't want to spoil too much information for the readers. So coming up next on **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, it's **Chapter 2: Strangers From a World Somewhat Afar**. See ya then! Oh, by the way, I get a feeling that Madri Scholar guy's story was probably as much for some of the readers as it was for me for some reason."

-Madri Scholar: "Should that matter?"

-Gohan: "Ah, I guess not."


	2. Strangers From a World Somewhat Afar

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Prime Legend Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar, no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: Now, I'm sure you guys are asking why I mentioned Raditz being in the summary if he wasn't going to be in this from Chapter 1, right? Easy. I never said **that** was going to happen. He's not even going to show up here in this chapter.

And I know that for those of you who still remember TM well enough for the big teaching session to be useless until the end, the whole "Madri Scholar" thing might be mostly a waste of time. I recognize that, and I apologize to those for whom it was a waste of time, but I didn't feel that was everyone, and so that was needed. Besides, I think the last part proves that he's not done in this story yet.

As for the following statement, my peeps, it is different from what I've just said in the form that it is not an unproven "just in case" statement. I recently got a review from Chrosis stating that my style as far as when my characters speak is confusing and hard to read. Now, to Chrosis and anybody else who may share these concerns, I understand what you're on about, as the way I'm doing it isn't exactly the common style. Heck, in pretty much all the wrestling stories I've done, the more common style is the way I did it, including putting the words before their speaker. But this time, I felt like changing it up a little, due to not wanting to add "said" and/or a more specific version of that word just about every time I have someone say something. However, I can see via several instances from this chapter, how difficult it is to read it that way. Therefore, with the exception of the "up next" parts at the end of each chapter, I will go back to my original style starting from this chapter. And between the posting of this one and chapter 3, this same statement will be reflected via changes to chapter 1.

That's it from me at this point. Read, enjoy, and (if you want) review. Oh, and… I think I'm gonna need a better summary. Sorry.

**Chapter 2: Strangers From a World Somewhat Afar.**

As the sun started to set near Mount Paoz, Chi-Chi was washing the dishes. A few minutes ago, her husband and her littlest son pretty much munched up just about everything on the plates. Humming to a pleasant tune, Chi-Chi thought as she cleaned every plate until it was bright as a Shine Sprite.

_Wow, this is the life. With Gohan not being worried about fighting, things are working out really well. He and Videl are getting good grades, and from what I hear, their two friends may have also started to shape up. On top of that, they're always having fun together. And that's something I thought would never happen, the way Gohan was always bothering me about going with his kung fu friends. Actually, I have to admit now, they're not so bad. Tien Shinhan actually tried to help him once this year, until he got lost. Speaking of Gohan, I wonder where he is now. I believe "the four" should be seeing one of their own back here soon._

The Madri Scholar, meanwhile, was spying in the distance, hiding within a nearby tree outside the home. Suddenly, he looked up in the sky, sensing that something was up in the air. He concentrated long and hard on exactly what was going on, until he finally realized the truth: there was a dark force in the air, and it was coming from above Kami's Tower.

"Looks to me like the Masaki clan and my expected guest are not the only persons arriving on the planet tonight," he observed. "Something evil this way comes. Fortunately, I have a feeling it will not come too soon for my plans to go on as intended."

At that point, the Madri Scholar decided to exit this location and head over towards Okayama, where the Masaki house and shrine lay. To be honest, he had yet to see the Masaki clan. He had no idea if they showed up, or even if the realms had even assimilated together at all, like Sasami and Tsunami were in the process of doing whilst living every day of their lives. That was his motivation to go there. To see whether his setup and predictions had come to fruition after all.

Back to the house, Chi-Chi was just finished washing dishes, when Goku came out of their room with a serious look on his face, though not quite ready for war.

"Oh, Goku. Why'd you come out? Are you still hungry or something?" she asked in slight concern.

"Nuh-uh," her husband surprisingly replied. "Chi-Chi, I think I just sensed something. We might have a visitor coming our way."

"What?" she shouted in shocked reply, practically jumping out of herself.

"I don't know what it is yet, but for some reason, I can't sense any evil," the powerful Saiyan honestly replied. "But it's not something I recognize. Hm?"

He noticed that the energy he was just sensing slowly but surely receded itself. After about twenty seconds, it became too faint for him to clearly sense. Looking behind him to see the worry-stained face of his wife, he had a sheepish smile on his face as he said, "Funny. Whoever that was, he's gone now."

Chi-Chi just flopped incredulously at that comment, then stormed back up to a stand position, shouting angry (but not obscene) comments about how could he scare her like that, and how she seriously thought he was going to have to go out and fight for his life out there. Almost right after that, Goten and the Ox-King came inside: they had been walking around, admiring the peaceful nature around them, since there was nothing else to do at the moment.

"There they go again. Mom's yelling at Dad over something stupid," Goten noted while pointing as his parents, who abruptly just stopped right there. The two both looked at their son and Chi-Chi's grandfather with embarrassed smiles on their faces. Goten and the Ox-King just enjoyed a laugh out of it right there. That's when a question came into Goku's head, a question which he would go on to ask his youngest son and his father-in-law.

"Hey, have you guys still not seen Gohan yet?"

"Actually, no," the Ox-King replied.

"Why are you all of a sudden worried about Gohan?" a curious Chi-Chi asked. "It's not time for him to be here yet. If there were cause for worry, that would be my job, not yours. He said he'd be here at eight."

"But come on, Chi-Chi. I'm bored right now," Goku said, honestly and stupidly as usual.

"Well, you can go to sleep or something!" she quickly scolded. "Better yet, go ahead and wash your clothes. You know you need to keep yourself physically in shape in case trouble comes, and I'd rather you do it by helping out around the house, unlike that slob Vegeta, who can sit all day and train in 5000 times gravity but he can't even help Bulma do one thing around the house."

"Well, I'll always have that over him," he pointed out. Meanwhile, Goten and Ox-King retreated to their rooms, wanting a little nothing to do with this.

"No you won't! You don't even do anything but play hero with nature!" Chi-chi shot back.

"Are you always gonna hold that one time against me or something?" Goku asked, referring to that one time when their entire group was getting together and he didn't have anything more useful to do than to guard a nest egg that would have most certainly perished in some dinosaur's tummy otherwise.

"No, except it's not just one time, it's practically 900 times," she re-informed him in a scolding tone. In this story, it had been like that. The somehow surprised Super Saiyan responded with a somewhat simple, "What?", to which his wife put a calm, reassuring smile on her face. Goten and the Ox-King have already left to their rooms at this point. Goku was curious as to what the smile was for, as his own face showed. Her response to this statement was peacefully uttered as follows:

"But don't worry. It's okay. At least you're not out fighting monsters, or something where I know you can get hurt."

"Even if I did get hurt, I'd manage to deal with it. But you don't have to worry about that. Honest," he said, with his confidence back in his voice.

"Really?" she asked, nothing changing about her current expression and the silent peace in her voice.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I don't see any threats to the universe lingering right now," he exclaimed, to which the couple shared a laugh. In all honesty, if the Madri Scholar were here, he'd be saying something like, "That's what you think."

"And I'd rather keep it that way," she said after finally stopping her laughter a few seconds later. "You know, we could get used to this life."

"Yeah, that's for sure," he replied, basking in the glory that is no war against evil. "But until our current ride of peace is over, let's live it to the fullest."

A knock suddenly came on their front door, and Goku went to go get it at his wife's quite un-domineering (for once) behest. Three friendly and familiar visitors were there: Vegeta, Bulma, and Trunks.

"Hey, good to see you guys!" he said, greeting them with a smile and wave.

"Nice to see you as well, Kakarot," greeted back a smirking Vegeta. "How are things?"

"Actually, we're doing quite well for ourselves. Come on in," Chi-Chi said, prompting her husband to step aside from in front of the door. This gave the three visitors from Capsule Corporation the space to enter their home. While Bulma and Trunks sat at the table, Vegeta decided to single out Goku for a little conversation.

"So, where's Gohan?" the Saiyan Prince asked in a near whisper. "Has he gone soft and started worrying about dates and friends again?"

"Well, actually… yeah," Goku said in a reply, sounding somewhat but not completely like he was admitting defeat.

"He won't be of any use to us now, in case any trouble appears," Vegeta said, his face getting a little serious. "Not that I've seen anything, I'm just trying to be careful."

"Oh, Vegeta. You and your worrying about threats. I never thought I'd hear that from you, considering you were our first really important one," Goku said after a chuckle.

"And look at me now," Vegeta said with a smile. "Kakarot, I don't know if I'm going nuts or something, but I think I might have noticed something on the way here." Both men's faces turned serious at that instant.

"Wait a minute. You saw something?" Goku asked.

"Well, yes and no," Vegeta began to explain. "I didn't sense any evil presences, but somewhere around four o'clock, about an hour after I'd finished training, I could swear for a moment that I felt the very spectrum of time and space warping around us for an instant. But then, that feeling subsided to my stomach growling: I was hungry." A smirk came onto Goku's face after hearing that, allowing him to conjure up the following witty retort:

"Let me guess: Bulma's spaghetti disconcentrated you, and you're talking about my son being weak?"

A flustered Vegeta reacted with the typical arrogant command to "Shut up!"

Right at that instant, the almighty Super Saiyans' conversation, as well as that of their wives, was immediately shut down by the sound of a crashing thud. However, it was not very nearby. It sounded like it was far away.

Along the high and winding road to Korin's tower now stood the Madri Scholar. Not only was he wise, he was also very fast. Using his speed, and not his grip, he not only managed to go all the way to the spot of the Masaki house and shrine, and notice that it was indeed there, but now he was climbing up to the tower at a much faster speed than Goku could have dreamed about without the ability to fly. But suddenly, he stopped when realizing something, and he had to get himself a grip.

_Great. The Masaki clan. But why did they have to come **now**? I was just on the verge of investigating something!_ the Madri Scholar exclaimed internally. _Well, I guess I must have brought this on myself for being so hectic to put things together like this. Let's just hope that what I have planned comes to fruition._

Speaking of the Masaki clan, they all got out of the spaceship, seemingly dazed. Even Yugi and the one known as both Katsuhito and Yosho could not maintain themselves well enough. The crash ride between the loving ships of Ryo-Ohki and Ken-Ohki was a very intense one. Any sane, normal person would predict their own death during that instance, but this was not a normal, sane group of people. Not even Tenchi and Sakuya could say that about themselves. The hero and former (under Jurian records altered by Kagato Jurai) Jurian Prince had been strengthened both from the Kagato battles, and the training between he and his grandfather, as well as from the strength of his own soul. And Sakuya, though perfectly human in form, was actually a shadow-reflection reincarnation created by Yugi. Sure, Washu could run tests on her and see human cells, but not any normal human cells by any extent of the imagination. That would pose as worse for Sakuya, should she have ever gotten herself experimented on.

Finally after an hour and the completion of the sunset, some people actually started waking up from this sudden tired dizziness. Yosho was the first, followed by Yugi a few seconds later. Yugi then took the job of helping Ayeka and Sasami up as they stirred. Ryoko and her crazy genius mother quickly followed suit in waking up, as did Tenchi. Kiyone came along and joined the land of the just awake right after that. This left only Nobuyuki, Sakuya, and Mihoshi. Tenchi called to them to wake up, obviously going to Sakuya first. That turned out to be the best decision of his day, for if he went to Mihoshi, he would have had to carry her, not enabling him to walk alongside his shadow girlfriend. Fortunately enough, Mihoshi's special escort job was left up to the only ordinary and completely powerless man in the entire cycle: the former Peeping Tom turned smoker, Nobuyuki Masaki. And to make matters worse, he was also thinking about how he was going to get fired for this. Out of every member of both the extended Son family and the extended Masaki clan, this would be the only one guaranteed to lose to Hercule every time. But the rest of the world didn't know that, and neither did the Masaki clan.

"So, which way do we go now?" Ryoko asked the others as she rested her hands behind her head.

"I don't know. But what I do know, however, is that you were the one whose ship crash landed into a remote zone practically in the middle of nowhere," Ayeka said, driving Ryoko into anger (as demonstrated by the fuming scowl developing on Ryoko's face), "just because you failed to show enough competence to keep it from falling in love with your enemy!"

"**I don't know what you're hinting at, you royal ham bag, but seeing as how we are in a remote area possibly in the middle of nowhere, you bothering me like this is only gonna get us more lost, so shove it! Go marvel at your crown or something!**" Ryoko yelled, turning towards Ayeka with the fuming scowl fully developed. The First Crowned Princess of Jurai was actually scared a slight bit.

"SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU! THIS ISN'T SOLVING ANYTHING!" Yugi quickly interjected, coming in between the two warring beauties.

As Yugi finally stopped this new installment in the series of arguments between the two Tenchi-loving rivals, as Ryo-Ohki switched back into her cabbit form, Tenchi and Yosho both noticed a house; though it would take awhile walking there, they didn't actually need to. Washu had created a relocation portal for this exact occasion. Mihoshi began to wake up. Once she did, she immediately got out from the arms of Nobuyuki, not wanting to take any chances on whether or not his perverted ways were working. Since she didn't feel anything in any private areas, she got off as if she wasn't scared at all, and made sure not to stomp on his foot or anything like that. Mihoshi got right next to her Galaxy Police partner and often annoyed friend Kiyone.

_It's a good thing that unlike Ryo-Ohki's portal, mine doesn't take a certain set of random commands and warp the universe. But then again, I am the greatest scientific genius in the universe, so this should be common knowledge!_ Washu thought, with her pride boosted by yet another successful project. Washu's portal was in the form of two gray magical balls, one that she tossed nearby, the other that she tossed all the way towards the house. It wasn't close enough to be only ten steps away from the door, but it did greatly reduce the distance they would have to walk: it would take only about five minutes to get there now, while it would take a half an hour without Washu's devices. Once each ball landed, it would transform into a tall standing mirror which reflected static instead of what was in front of it. Entering through the static, Washu ended up on the other side. The group saw this and followed suit, realizing that it was indeed much faster this way. As the rest of them walked ahead of the super genius, Washu took out a one-button remote control and pressed the red button, which caused the mirrors to shrink back into little balls and come together at the place where she was now. Washu put away the remote control and put each ball in a different pocket.

Meanwhile, from another direction, Gohan neared his home, now in the front seat in Sharpner's car.

"Remember Angela, that cutie who discovered the fact that you wear teddy bear underwear?" Sharpner reminded him.

"Will you stop joking about that?" Gohan asked in an annoyed tone.

"Afraid not. If you really want normal, you should be going out with her and just leave Videl to me," Sharpner said in yet another wisecrack, following which he burst into laughs.

"That's not funny!" Gohan yelled, bursting almost out of his seat."

"Whoa, calm down. It's not my fault you almost got yourself into a love triangle because you were paranoid about being discovered as the Great Saiyaman," Sharpner replied, yet again relishing in the inflicted embarrassment his not-very-normal friend.

"That was last year!" a frustrated Gohan yelled out now, his situation getting worse.

"No, the school year ended today, so if you want to get technical, it was two school years ago," Sharpner pointed out.

"Yeah, that only makes it a little more embarrassing that you remember that," Gohan replied more calmly, though not feeling better about the jokes just yet.

"Hey, that's one thing that friends are for," Sharpner said, actually stating a fact of life. But just try to tell Ayeka and Ryoko that. They wouldn't believe they could possibly be friends.

"Unfortunately, yeah," Gohan said, a smile finally coming on his face. The "unfortunately" part was due to the fact that he was just the victim.

At this point, they were right in front of the house. Sharpner noticed and stopped the car. But it wasn't that that he noticed. Something caught the corner of his eye. Several figures were off in the distance, walking in the direction of… wait a minute. They just reached Gohan's place, and these strangers were walking towards it! Gohan already realized that he was home and got out of the car, but didn't see the unknowns that were walking toward his home.

"Hey, Sharpner. What are you looking at? Do you see some hot girl in the distance that you might want to check out?" Gohan asked, giving his own attempt at a wisecrack on Sharpner. However, he kept his calm, for he had a true answer to the question.

"Actually, no," Sharpner said as he pointed to the strangers. "I'm just wondering what the heck a bunch of strangers are doing walking over to your house." This caused Gohan to turn around and notice the same thing that his blond friend did.

"I'd advise you to get out of here, just in case this is something bad," Gohan said, his voice turning slightly more serious, though he was careful not to reflect that in the expression on his face.

"Okay, Great Saiyaman. But promise me that you and Videl are gonna stay alive so that we can have more fun with you guys next year, alright?" Sharpner asked, still making jokes, this time referring to the Saiyaman identity.

"Don't remind me," a smiling Gohan said while chuckling.

"Alright. Catch ya later!" Sharpner called as he drove off. The two friends waved at each other for a few seconds, then turned around toward their own agendas. Since Gohan's is the more important one, we'll focus on it.

Looking at the group of strangers, Gohan immediately remembered the words of the Madri Scholar earlier today. That weirdo told them about this guy with alien women that went through a lot of adventures, almost as many as he and his friends had. The one good thing about this prophecy was that at least the seventeen-year-old kid seemed like a cool enough guy to make friends with. But there was no way in the world that his mother would allow that many people, especially that many women, into the house. So he would have to keep the conversation outside if he dared talk to them. After thinking a little about it, he decided he'd rather wait for them to initiate something, if they really were headed toward his home. So, he entered the house in Mount Paoz once more, and to his surprise, he found Vegeta standing there with a smirk on his face.

"Well, hello, softy," Vegeta joked. "Good to see you've finally shown up."

"Hey, Vegeta. What are you doing here?" Gohan honestly asked in greeting.

"Bulma, Trunks and I paid a little visit about an hour or so ago. Bulma and your mother are still talking inside the living room. Kakarot is sleeping, and I think Goten just woke up," Vegeta explained. The sound of Goten and Trunks playing soon joined the sound of their mothers talking, which gave clear evidence to the last of Vegeta's just-given words. He went on to cement that by saying, "I think that sounds clear enough."

"Vegeta, can you come outside for one second?" Gohan suddenly asked, remembering what he saw. "I think we might have a little something to deal with."

"What? I knew I sensed something!" Vegeta yelled, assured of his former spoken words.

As soon as Gohan turned around to lead Vegeta outside, however, he stopped dead in his tracks, backing into Vegeta. The Saiyan Prince shoved him aside, and he saw a strange visitor that looked like some kind of priest or druid.

"Who the heck are you?" Vegeta demanded, faced with the stranger before him.

"Oh, this guy? I think he calls himself the Mad Schooner or something," Gohan said, mistaking the name.

"Actually, no. It's Madri Scholar!" replied the embarrassed Madri Scholar. "But still, I'm glad you remember me. That would mean you consider my words to be somewhat important after all."

"Actually, I didn't. Not until I saw those guys," Gohan said, pointing to the group of strangers walking toward his home.

"Except for "tomorrow" instead of "tonight", looks like I was right after all," the Madri Scholar said with a confident smile. "However, I did slightly underestimate Washu's genius. If she didn't have a teleport portal device, they would have slept miles from here, and then looked for a location tomorrow. Videl probably would have stopped by before they even showed up."

"Gohan, do you know something about this idiot scholar?" Vegeta asked, obviously getting annoyed with the Madri Scholar's presence.

"Yeah, he happened to tell me pretty much the entire story of those people," Gohan explained in vague but simple detail.

"Not entirely," the Madri Scholar corrected him. "I didn't want to over-overload you with information, so there was more that I didn't tell you."

"Good, you can keep that to yourself and allow me to learn it from them," Gohan said, opting to not become confused by the informational overload powers of the Madri Scholar. Goku suddenly appeared right before them via Instant Transmission, contradicting one part of Vegeta's earlier details.

"Ah, Goku. Finally. You're here to meet your potential new friends," the Madri Scholar explained.

"Would that happen to include yourself by any chance?" Goku asked with a wary but welcoming smile on his face.

"No, it would happen to include them," the Madri Scholar corrected, on that note pointing towards the Masaki visitors. Goku's eyes were now in the direction of these people. By now, they were close enough that you could clearly see them to an extent. Gohan looked at the little cute one with the pigtails and actually pondered what the Madri Scholar once said about a little kid named Sasami who this guy would have probably liked if he were a kid.

"I see you notice Sasami. Yes, you would have liked her as a kid," the Madri Scholar said with a smirk, guessing the thoughts in Gohan's head. He then turned to Vegeta before continuing. "Saiyan Prince, I think we just found your daughter-in-law."

"What?" Vegeta suddenly burst in shame. "You've got to be kidding me!" How could this idiot tell him, the very mighty Prince of Saiyans, that his mighty son Trunks was going to get married to some little girl with nothing going for her except for her Pretty Sammy cuteness?

"You could make history," the Madri Scholar explained, trying to shed some light into the situation. "Trunks and Sasami would in effect unite the Saiyan and Jurian royal families."

"Tch! That makes it even more ridiculous!" Vegeta spat in disgust. _Does this guy honestly think I'm interested in uniting two royal lines?_

The strange visitors suddenly noticed the four, and one of them (in wild cyan hair) suddenly teleported right to them, creeping them out a little bit as she advanced via slightly leaning towards them.

"So, who the heck are you guys?" she asked them, following which the three regained their composure.

"I'm Goku," the hero said, introducing himself with a smile. "And these are my son Gohan, Vegeta, and…" He stopped himself, realizing he didn't know who the wizard-looking guy was. "Who are you?"

"The Madri Scholar, all-seeing eye of the universe," he proudly answered, introducing himself to both Goku and Ryoko. "You in the wild cyan hair, I take it you're the special ex-space pirate Ryoko. Is that right?"

"Wait a minute! How did you know that? Are you all some kind of-"

"Stalkers?" Gohan asked, interrupting Ryoko's sudden tiny eruption of anger. "I don't know about him, (points to the Scholar, who grows an irritated face) but for the rest of us, no."

"O Ryoko! Has the harlot found new boyfriends or something yet?" Ayeka called behind them with a slightly ego-crazed laugh.

"Knock it off!" Ryoko shouted back at the First Crowned Princess of Jurai.

"And that would be the immature Princess Ayeka?" Gohan asked.

"So you are a stalker, or a real perceptive guy," Ryoko "realized" with an evil smirk.

"He knows nothing more than what I told him earlier today," the Madri Scholar said in Gohan's defense.

"Wait a minute. Gohan, you knew about all these girls and you didn't tell me or anyone?" a surprised and somewhat disappointed Goku asked his eldest son. Vegeta smacked his own forehead at the fact that Goku could not understand why he didn't… no, **couldn't** tell him.

"This idiot wizard priest looking guy is who gave your son this information, just today. Even I would assume he was just talking smack," Vegeta explained irritably. "Besides, isn't this yours and Gohan's first contact today since he left this morning for school?"

"Yeah, especially about the part where he said he knew they were all coming," Gohan added, oblivious to Vegeta's second comment as well as the Madri Scholar's cross look towards him.

"What? I barely even know you, and you mean to tell me you can go around foretelling my future?" Ryoko shouted, her anger directed towards the Madri Scholar.

"And altering it. He said he set things up for a portal to open or stuff like that," Gohan said, still oblivious to how the Madri Scholar had a crossly expression on his face directed towards the young destroyer of Cell.

"So that was your attack that almost destroyed our house! And I thought it was Nagi! You're lucky I'm not giving you the worst pounding of your life right now!" Ryoko yelled once again towards the all-seeing eye of the universe.

"Gohan, shut up!" the Madri Scholar finally said, before turning towards Ryoko. "Ryoko, you'll find out why I did that… _eventually_. But whatever must shall run its course. For example: me."

Ryoko started growling, then threw a punch with all her might for one knockout hit. Just at that instant, he escaped the area in a single bound. She did not even scrape him. Unbeknownst to them all, Tenchi and Sakuya had run over to her when he saw her about to swing. He put a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw her two best friends in the Masaki house there, Tenchi asking her a simple question: "Ryoko, are you okay?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Except the stalker who told these guys all about us just got away."

Hiding in the bushes, the Madri Scholar thought for a moment about what just happened.

_Oh, great! This is the one part I hate about my job. A stalker is a desperate person going to criminal measures to spy on someone for some degenerate purposes. I am simply doing my job as the all-seeing eye of the universe! I watch over all I can because I'm supposed to know all this. Where does everyone I contact get off comparing me to stalkers? _After a few seconds, however, his frustrated reflections began to calm down. _Oh, well. A small price to pay for the universe. Better not start letting it affect me too much now. I've already got a good thing going here._

At that instant, he left that area, heading for West City, and the great mansion of Hercule, the International Martial Arts World Heavyweight Champion.

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Madri Scholar: "Alright. Things are finally beginning to pick up. In our next chapter, we literally have evidence of hell breaking loose. The one promised in your little summary is coming back at last. But nobody ever said anything about instant sparks."

-Ryoko: "Who are you, and what are you doing foretelling and changing everyone's future?"

-Madri Scholar: "Stay off my case. You already had your chance to ask, and I'm not giving you any different answers than I already have. Anyway, in our next chapter in **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, it's **Chapter 3: The Return of Raditz**. Things are going to heat up."

-Tenchi: "There he goes again."


	3. The Return of Raditz

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Prime Legend Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar, no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: I'm not as worried about the summary as I once was. After all, I did edit it a little bit shortly after posting chapter 2. I feel more comfortable with it because the Ryoko-Raditz thing is made more clear. In the summary, of course.

**Chapter 3: The Return of Raditz.**

Over the course of the night, the Masaki clan spent its time bothering Goku, Gohan, and Vegeta, as well as learning more about them and this alternate realm theorem thing, until Chi-chi, Goten, Bulma, and Trunks came outside, so as for the Capsule Corp visitors to receive a positive sendoff. The sendoff didn't work as well as was hoped, because upon spotting the Masaki clan, Chi-chi and Bulma became enraged until Tenchi cleared up what was really going on. Vegeta was actually pretty darn glad to leave, before Trunks could notice Sasami and start getting attracted to her. Although he didn't know if his son was going to be taken in that easily, he decided he would rather not find out. The Son family decided to accept the stranded Masaki clan being with them for now, but did not have enough space to let all of them into their home. Ryoko ended up being the one lucky enough to take closet space, while all the others were left to sleep right outside, with sheets and pillows given to them so that they could feel the least bit comfortable.

Meanwhile, that same night, West City's grand supreme hero, the Martial Arts World Heavyweight Champion himself, was training with his daughter, a fact that actually strengthened Videl by testing her patience with having to hold back for this confusing fool of a champ that was her father. By learning to fly a while back, she'd managed to tap into her central energy, which enabled her to become automatically stronger than him. As far as un-enhanced physical strength, however, he was the best in the world. However, after seeing the Z Fighters in action, that regard mattered less and less to Videl. In the midst of this, her father stopped to ask her if something had been bothering her, as she was more irritated today with this training thing than she usually would have been. She then confessed about hearing this Madri Scholar guy tell her about some visitors from another realm who are somewhat just like the Z Fighters, but also different enough for confusion to have no chance in hell of happening between the two clans. If she used those exact same words, the "in hell" part did not come out of her mouth. Anyway, Hercule was sure that this Madri Scholar was just talking the talk but in no way would be able to walk the walk, so he reassured his daughter of this. They made plans to visit Mount Paoz tomorrow (a/n: just as the Madri Scholar had predicted) and then went off to sleep. Majin Buu was asleep the whole day, so the pink puffball was not a factor in today's happenings.

Unbeknownst to Hercule, Videl, Buu, or anybody else, the Madri Scholar had already made it within the mansion grounds, though not completely inside the mansion itself. He decided to sleep there, knowing that the guards and the dogs would not catch him here until it was late morning, and time to wake up. After that, that boastful champion Hercule Satan would reveal himself soon enough, and it would be time to introduce Hercule to the Masaki clan and prove once and for all that he was truly the all-seeing eye in the universe.

Once that morning came, the Madri Scholar was correct on the money as usual, knowing enough about the realms to know that the nighttime guards were useless. If robbers had known this, the mansion would be completely empty. Anyway, just as he guessed, he was awakened by the sound of growling dogs and security trying to tell him to wake up and get out.

"Oh, the guards. Mostly everyone here pretty much fears you, because they don't want to be arrested. Me? I welcome you as a wake-up call," the Madri Scholar said, surprising the guards. An angry dog growled in reply, chomping at the bit to get his fangs on a certain wizard priest looking guy that didn't even flinch. The Madri Scholar then stood up, before continuing to speak. "Don't worry about Hercule, or any of his things. I'm not going to hurt him or steal a thing. I'm simply going to speak to him about something… that he and his daughter might want to see. Something I bothered Videl about after school yesterday that might be worthwhile to the both of them. Just allow me to wait here after he's addressed the people."

"Uh, actually, I think he's addressing the people right now," one of the guards said, pointing towards the front of the mansion, where Hercule is standing outside, addressing his people.

"I am the World Martial Arts Heavyweight Champion! And I am perfecting a new technique which shall take my skill to higher depths so that I become powerful beyond all others! Yeah!" Hercule boldly declared, finishing with his trademark motion of raising his arm up in a closed fist, followed by the cheering people doing so. What a hero. He gave the people something to cheer for, some excitement in their lives. Sure, he discovered people… no, friends with unnatural abilities which meant he was not the strongest man in the universe, but that didn't matter, not to him and not to anyone without an easily irritable mind, as long as he remained champion. The Madri Scholar, though, was one with an easily irritable mind… with having to wait for this showboat poser champion to stop posing so that he could finally speak to him. The front door to the mansion opened, and out came Videl and Majin Buu to stand beside Hercule. This pretty much meant the session was over for today, and they were going to return to their not very humble home in five minutes. But their exit also marked another statement. It meant free room for the Madri Scholar to super sprint into the mansion, completely undetected, in .197 seconds. The confused guards and dogs looked at each other and wondered if he was even there, for they had their backs turned to him when he sprinted into the place.

Finally, Hercule was finished showboating, and the noble beacon of hope retreated in his championship glory, his daughter and "student" trailing behind him.

But as soon they reached the top room, Hercule's room, the group found themselves face to face with this holy-looking druid freak of an all-seeing man known as the Madri Scholar. Hercule and Majin Buu looked at him and laughed at the top of their lungs right there, looking at the ridiculous outfit that this guy was actually showing up in before their very eyes. Videl, however, was unfazed by his appearance. The Madri Scholar was quickly getting angry at this embarrassing display of "respect" from the champion of the world and his magic borne disciple.

"Be quiet!" the Madri Scholar blasted. However, nothing would come of it except more laughing and the fact that he was being completely ignored. Videl, knowing that he had something "important" to say about his story of the visitors from the other realm, was in no mood to see him any longer than she had to, especially if that would be because of people laughing at him; it was simply not her style about this. Videl, equally irritated at the matter, kicked Majin Buu in the head, then Hercule, sending them into a dizzied state. But most of all, it stopped their laughing.

"Finally. Peace," the Madri Scholar said, following a sigh which had those same words attached on it.

"Yeah, now can you tell me why you're here, Madri Scholar? I'm in no mood to see a weirdo like you even if I'm in my best mood," Videl asked, quickly rushing to the point.

"Well, now that your knucklehead father is quiet, I guess I can finally get to the point. I know for a fact you're going to visit mount Paoz. Combine the fact that the people there are friends with all of you now, and your boyfriend is among them, there is no doubt in my mind you want to kick off your little vacation with them."

"And? What's that got to do with anything? Tell me, before I knock you out and have you arrested for breaking and entering," Videl said, adding a threat that she could certainly carry out.

"First of all, I'm not guilty of breaking and entering. You left the door wide open, and I didn't break anything. All I did was enter," the Madri Scholar stated in counter-explanation. Videl's face became one degree sterner, knowing that he was right. "And besides, I can exit before that happens the same way that I came. I may not be a fighter, but I have unrivaled speed from my universal travels. Therefore, there is no way you or anyone can possibly catch me. I'm like miniature version of the speed of light."

"Whoa!" Videl exclaimed. That fact took her for a loop right there. Nobody can travel faster than light, or even use that as a truly valid figure of speech.

"Anyway, once you make it to Mount Paoz, you'll get an immediate sign that I was right all along," so spoke the all-seeing eye of the universe. Videl then put a daring smirk on his face, expecting him to back out of this. However, he was unwavering in his conviction that he was correct. Still up for the challenge of seeing if the Madri Scholar's words were true instead of taking him at his word, Videl turned to her father and Buu, and instructed them to get up: they were going to Mount Paoz immediately.

Meanwhile, Piccolo was sitting on some other mountaintop, meditating, and preparing to meet with his friends once more if he ever felt like it or considered it necessary. After a short while, he activated two clones of his, each of which was dressed like Nail. Piccolo's clones attacked him with energy blasts, which he managed to dodge. Sooner than later, they were coming at him with an all-on burst mode attack, and he blocked each and every single bit of it, except for one kick which caught him straight hard in the side. However, he did come back from that, immediately dishing that clone a Destructive Wave, which brought that one to an end. That piece of Piccolo's power was brought back into the remaining bodies, meaning rather than three 33 powered Piccolos, there were two 50 powered Piccolos. But, before he could continue training his body, he was forced into training his patience, at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Not even worth bragging about."

He quickly reverted the rest of his energy inside him at the sight of what was before him. He was standing in the presence of that irritating Saiyan, Raditz.

"Raditz, I don't know what you want on this planet, but I'm not having any of it. Step off, or I'll finish you off in one blow. You can't stand a chance against any of us now," Piccolo warned. Raditz, however, clucked at the sound, for he knew full well that they'd gotten about a million times stronger since fighting him. And quite frankly, the confidence he exuded showed that not only did he know, but he didn't care, and felt justified in that for some reason.

"Relax, Piccolo. I didn't come here to kill you, kill anyone, or to take over the planet. I just want to challenge my little brother, just to see how strong I really am now," Raditz explained, a simple purpose indeed. Piccolo then smirked at the fact, knowing that this guy was nothing for Goku now. Goku was at Super Saiyan 3, and all this guy probably did at HFIL was become the punching bag in target practice for the rest of the damned ones. Speaking of which…

"How the heck did you get out?" Piccolo finally asked.

"A hole appeared suddenly, and I took advantage of its presence," Raditz answered. "A kind of… rift in dimensions. I don't know how it happened, but it was right in front of me, but there was no way I was going to take them trying to use me as a punching bag any longer. In fact, they ticked me off enough for me to become a Super Saiyan. Since Nappa and a few of his weaker friends instigated the whole thing, I simply blew them to bits."

"You're kidding, right?" Piccolo asked, in a tone which implied that Raditz was bluffing.

"Nope. Ever since then, the rest of those bums have been leaving me alone. As for why the halo's not on my head: When I escaped, I figured the rift would seal just as suddenly as it came, so I stayed next to it, so that my body was out, but the halo was still trapped inside, and thus no longer able to accompany me. As my luck would have it, that's exactly what happened. So technically, I'm alive again," Raditz continued, grinning his devilish grin at the awe-struck Namekian. However, that grin subsided to a more serious face, which was accompanied by his next words: "Think me a liar if you want, but I will show you and everyone else that doubts me… that my status as an elite… is true."

When he uttered those words, his voice suddenly changed. He did not sound like the usual, bragging, arrogant Raditz of days past. Now, the voice he projected was one that seemed confident, but at the same time more humble, more calm, more focused. Piccolo finally understood at this point, that…no, there were no maybes about it. Raditz really wasn't just boasting false sayings. Horror came upon the eyes of the good demon of the green race as he realized that he was standing there, underestimating this enemy, when all along in this little conversation, Raditz somehow had the power to kill him.

"Just take me to Kakarot already," a certain irritant Raditz began. "I'm getting bored here."

"What's the point? You already know where he lives by now," Piccolo stated matter-of-factly. "And why do you want to fight him? Sure, you've become a Super Saiyan, but he's at Super Saiyan 3. There's no way you could possibly beat him."

"Oh, you don't know about that. See, there's a secret to my lo… actually, I won't tell you. I'll tell Kakarot when I battle him. I'm allowing you to take me to him out of graciousness, you see. If you'd rather not come with me due to fear that I will actually try to kill you, then be my guest. But make your decision now. I'm getting impatient," Raditz instructed, decisive yet annoyed at the amount of time it was taking for Piccolo to follow the instruction of simply taking him to his little brother.

"Well, okay," Piccolo decided with an untrusting scowl. "But anything suspicious, and it'll be battle between you and me."

"Alright. Finally," Raditz said calmly with a sigh. Piccolo levitated off the ground a few feet, and Raditz followed suit. Soon, they were fully flying to Goku's home.

Speaking of the house at Mount Paoz, the area outside where the Masaki clan were allowed to sleep was now occupied by one more person: Ryoko Hakubi, who was tired of the closet. Especially since this one, unlike the one back in Okayama, was kind of discouraging, with all of Chi-chi's clothes hanging over her. So, she'd decided to sneak off through the wall to where the others were. As for who awoke first, that honor belonged to one Princess Ayeka Jurai. Once she cleared the sand out of her eyes and raised herself to a standing balance, she looked about her, seeing sleepyheads strewn about, heads rested on pillows, bodies in sheets. Among the rested faces, was… Lord Tenchi. The one she considered to be the completely perfect guy. In her eyes, anyone would be crazy not to admit he's handsome. And just about every day, he's constantly reminded of that opinion, by at least the certain three of the ladies in the Masaki clan. Yet at the same time, he was a caring individual, a noble soul who knew nothing about ego and conceit. Something that deep down, Ayeka wished that she could be like… or at least that she could be with. Yet who was it that was sleeping alongside him? Who was it that he was proud to call his girlfriend? It wasn't Ayeka. And it used to be that Ryoko had a slight chance, which Ayeka would have surely gotten over with time due to the fact that she lost Tenchi to a rival. But of all the contenders for Tenchi's heart, it just had to be that annoying kid Sakuya! Why did Yugi have to torture Ayeka by bringing her back when she was released from the chamber in the cave?

Ayeka's frustrated reflections were interrupted when she heard the sound of a helicopter approaching their area. Inside the jet copter were people that Ayeka didn't know: Videl, Hercule, Majin Buu, and the Madri Scholar. The Scholar smiled with his arms folded, seeing that the Masaki clan was all outside. This provided immediate proof that he was right. Videl looked on in shock, her gaze turning back and forth from the purple haired woman and the sleeping people around her to the all-stalking weirdo and her father.

"So these are the ones," Hercule finally spoke, breaking the silence that had come to them a few minutes ago, as they approached the home of Son Goku and family. Right at that point, Videl regained her composure quickly enough to stop her jet copter's forward motion, following which she landed it. It was very close to the sleeping Masakis outside and the Son family inside, so whether via the sound or the wind, it was actually pretty easy to know that it was there. Chi-chi and Gohan, who were in the kitchen, recognized the sound of that helicopter anywhere.

"Aren't you getting that? Videl's here!" Chi-chi announced, as if there were any appropriate reason to. Gohan complied with the request portion of it and opened the door to greet his girlfriend. (a/n: why does it seem for some reason like I'm just going through the motions with that statement?) When he saw that Videl hadn't gotten out of the helicopter yet, he stepped outside. Videl smiled and winked at him, then subtlety directed him to the right, where he saw an awake Ayeka.

"Oh, good morning Gohan," Ayeka greeted politely. The Madri Scholar forgot to mention that she was very much out of her snobbish character when just waking in the morning.

"Morning, Ayeka," he greeted back, following the aforementioned observation. By now, the jet copter was on the ground, and the trio of Videl, Hercule, and the Scholar were already on the ground as well. Videl ran over to join at Gohan's side, following which they shared an embrace. After the couple retracted themselves from one another's sense of touch, they turned to the girl with the purple hair.

"You mind telling me which one this is?" Videl asked immediately. She did not want to take long at all knowing which was which among the visitors the Madri Scholar basically personally set up to be here in the first place.

"Oh, that's Ayeka," Gohan answered plainly.

"The First Crown Princess of Planet Jurai," the Madri Scholar added, for three reasons: to flatter Ayeka over her royal title, to remind Gohan and Videl in case they forgot that important detail, and to give some information to the impressed Hercule.

"Why, thank you. I must inform you that my royal position is one that I take… hey, wait a minute! Are you not that rogue stalking priest Ryoko told us about?" Ayeka shot, realizing in the middle of the flattery that this was the Madri Scholar she was speaking to. At the sound of the words "rogue stalking priest", more specifically "stalking", the Madri Scholar smacked his forehead in incredulous panic.

"What is it with you people and your "stalker" business?" he asked, beginning to get somewhat desperate for it to stop.

"Well, you do seem to know everything about everyone," Hercule pointed out whilst thinking about it.

"That's because I'm the all-seeing eye in the universe!" the Scholar explained in exclamation. "And you're the World Heavyweight Charlatan of Martial Arts, so why are you helping her (Ayeka) deface me?"

Before Hercule could answer that question, they could see two figures flying in the distance. One was a green-skinned figure in a dark purple martial artist outfit with a heavy white cape and a heavy purple head turban covered mostly in white bandages. The other was a guy with extremely long black hair, some kind of green device attached to be in front of his left eye, a big brown tail around his waist, and a black and brown rit armor fit which covered all but his arms, fists, and legs.

"Might I ask who these ones are?" Ayeka asked, being the only one that knew nothing about the two. Gohan and Videl smiled in recognition of the ally among those two. The Madri Scholar was the only one that even heard Ayeka.

"The green guy is Piccolo. He comes from the planet Namek. He used to exist as an evil within the eventual guardian Kami until he was sent out, then got beat by Goku and eventually turned good. The same thing I hope to see happening to Gohan's uncle Raditz, the full-blooded Saiyan flying next to him," the Madri Scholar finally replied, his eyes closing at that instant. This was obviously an important moment to him. Gohan, though he never noticed the question from Ayeka, did recognize Raditz, and did hear a certain part of the Madri Scholar's answer. He wondered… if Raditz had anything to do with the Scholar setting up the Tenchi clan to come here. Whether or not that was the case, they had to be careful. Raditz was not one to be trusted.

Piccolo and Raditz flew down directly in front of the Scholar, Videl, Gohan, Hercule, Buu, and Ayeka. Neither looked very friendly, but knowing that Piccolo was a good guy, everyone just guessed that this was their disposition, especially towards each other. Raditz, after a few seconds, turned toward his nephew and asked one simple question: "Gohan, can you tell me where your dad is?"

Meanwhile, Tenchi Masaki just started waking up.

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Raditz: "Finally, I make my insert. In the next chapter, we will see more clearly how yours truly fares in the midst of the Z Fighter family and the Masaki clan at the same time. But why exactly is this woman bothering me right now?"

-Madri Scholar: "Meanwhile, I happen to spot something… interesting, to say the least, about what could be a situation. Let's hope it doesn't get too rough on the planet. The next installment in **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, will be **Chapter 4: Darkness Emerges**."

-Raditz: "I shall instantly prove myself to be superior to any and all things that have dared to ever oppose me. I'm back, better than ever: a Super Saiyan!"


	4. Darkness Emerges

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Prime Legend Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: Well, guys. I seriously hope you haven't forgotten all about the "unholy alliance" piece to the whole thing. That's about to come out into the open as of right now.

But before you guys get to the chapter, I think I have a little issue to address over here, cause I feel like I have to level with my few but growing fans in this part of the place. And if you guys watch WWE professional wrestling, and you saw Joey Styles "quit" on WWE back on the May 1st, 2006 edition of Monday Night Raw, then you'll know when I'm talking about when I quote Styles on this one.

What he said to start that infamous promo was simple: "I'm gonna show the whole world why - for seven years in ECW - I was the unscripted, uncensored, loose cannon of commentary." Well, today I show a community that has nothing to do with wrestling and probably doesn't even know who Joseph Bonsignore (a.k.a. Joey Styles) is, that I can easily be that same unscripted, uncensored, loose cannon of commentary.

And my little rant is really simple: why is it that people are gonna come onto this site, do an awesome story capable of doing amazing things to the main fan base's thinking, and then not only leave those ideas incomplete, but just leave altogether with no signs whatsoever that they were ever looking back?

The idea for this story was really inspired by a realization that I made in the midst of the reawakening of my Tenchi Muyo fandom over the past week, which in turn led me to go into a search under "Yugi" in the category of Tenchi Muyo. I then ran into a story called "Yugi's Gift" by Poncho D, which was a story about Yugi coming out of stasis and bringing back Sakuya to be with Tenchi again, posted on 5/7/03, and last updated on 4/2/04. The story was absolutely awesome, to the point where I pretty much figured I'm gonna be staying a Tenchi Muyo fan probably for a long time. I never forgot about that series, or DBZ, or any other anime that I ever watched and liked at least since 2000, but it's been as far in the back of my mind as the concept of even reading fan fiction for either of these two shows, until last week.

Now, what could be the problem here, you ask? Simple. I already posed the question, now let me tell you the facts. Poncho D left us hanging on a cliff in the middle of a pregnancy storyline after Sakuya's and Tenchi's child, implanted by Yugi during the recreation of the famous/infamous Kumashiro Kid, and that would be Sakuya, was already established as Tenchi's test of his true love towards Sakuya. He had yet to pass or fail, and the last chapter Poncho D posted ended with Sakuya going into her private bathroom with a hand over her mouth and her cheeks turned green. The story, obviously, was nowhere near finished, and Poncho D never worked on FFN again.

Immediately, I looked at the reviews to this great story, and they were accrediting Poncho D as much as I was internally. I eventually sent a long message to Poncho D telling about mine and others' wishes for the story to continue, or at least for an explanation as to why it can't, as well as a message to a reviewer named Silencer2 to help me out, and so far I've gotten absolutely nothing back from either of them. (P.S. Silencer2's last review to this was on May 11th, 2006, my friend Kinsley's 16th birthday! Though he doesn't like anime, I think the significance of mentioning my buddy's B-day and how recent that review was should mean something.)

(Actually, now that I see Poncho D has reviewed in order to announce a comeback, this one isn't so important anymore, but let's keep using my past opinion about this writer's faded and jaded ensemble of dedication as an example to my point.)

So, last night, I did the same thing, except this time, a search under "Sakuya" for Tenchi Muyo. Again, I ran into two more awesome Tenchi/Sakuya stories, by cyberdemon and TaiFighter. Both stories were at least two years old and were left unfinished, but here's the thing about it. Cyberdemon's story is currently the person's seventeenth most recently updated one, which means this person's done a lot of work and got clogged with a lot of ideas, so I can't really blame them for that because that's happened to me a lot with my wrestling fanfics. But TaiFighter, on the other hand, that was the person's first and last fanfic. All three stories were left incomplete at very critical points, and all three stories had the power to single-handedly shift at least a few people's way of thinking about the pretty much hated pairing of Tenchi and Sakuya. (which I obviously support, btw) Yet, with the exception of cyberdemon, each and every one of these people not only left their stories incomplete, but basically left starving for more, never gave us any, never even gave any explanation as to why they stopped, never even looked back at all, and never did any work on FFN after that. (Again, as far as the soon-returning Poncho D is concerned, this opinion is a past one, but in no way am I relenting from making this point)

See, the facts are like this: their creativity had the power - somewhere, somehow - to change everything about how people viewed the character of Sakuya Kumashiro from Tenchi In Tokyo/Shin Tenchi Muyo. Yet in the middle of that process, they completely abandoned it. Now you got people lingering through and giving reviews to 2-year-undone stories, thinking about how great they are, how you owe it to finish them, and eventually… how they're pretty much forced to resign to the fact that they're getting absolutely nothing back from now on. Not just from now on, but from back when that story was last updated. It's actually very ridiculous. In fact, it sucks! It sucks just like the fact that people in the wrestling section of FFN pretty much ignored my Evolution story because, at least according to my earlier opinion, it didn't include Randy Orton or John Cena in love. (yeah, it's an overload of teenage girls whose hormones control their fanfic imagination there) Which, by the way, helped trigger me to the new idea that was the last story I was working on before I went here.

People were responding to those stories, and their responses and desires were left unfulfilled. Which is something that quite frankly disappoints me like hell, because thanks to this past week, I am one of them. I am one of the fans saying, quote cyberdemon about TaiFighter's story, "You do realize that in 9 freakin' days, it will be 2 years since you updated! If you are going to stop, then at least finish this story first, I really need to see how it is going to turn out," and basically saying it all in vain. And I know that that's the Tenchi Muyo section, whose show can be considered dead, unlike this spot (which is why I did the crossover here), but that doesn't exactly matter, cause I severely doubt that's the only place where this happens.

So here's what I'm gonna do: the exact opposite of those people. I'm gonna do everything in my power to keep going with this story until I get it finished, especially now that I have a summer vacation to be able to live this through in. I know for a fact that I am an indestructible soul of imagination, which helps me as a writer of raps, as a writer of fanfics, as a player of videogames, and even as a student of high school. I promised you people a steady development of Raditz/Ryoko was going to take place in this story, as well as a dark alliance coming into play. I, P. Dizzle tha Prime Legend Champion, hereby declare that if I suddenly go on a huge hiatus from the site without completely finishing the story, then all reviewers have the right to flame me and call me a stinking piece of trash in their reviews until I give them an explanation or get back to business. And if I don't even get into anything major with either Raditz/Ryoko or the dark alliance before this hiatus takes place, then go ahead and call me the pile of the most stinktatude-filled chump stain shit in FFN history. And if you think this is my first seemingly crazed Styles-like shoot, then ask wrestling fans who have read Chapter 19 of "The Evolution of This Business" (or better yet, read the end of it yourself) and you will see that I can be a very opinionated young man when I want to be, or should I say, when I feel like I'm getting shortchanged around these parts.

Excuse me for, um… wasting my readers' time with this, if it indeed was a waste of space and time, but I felt like that was something I had to get off my chest. Now, without further ado, I'd like to finally get on with the next chapter so that I can continue. Especially after the promise I just made, that I'm not taking back.

**Chapter 4: Darkness Emerges.**

As soon as Tenchi rubbed the sand out of his eyes, he looked to the front of the house he was sleeping outside of and noticed the Madri Scholar, Ayeka, Gohan, and several different figures he did not recognize. He saw that Ayeka was the only one in her sleeping clothes, and everyone else was still asleep, which hinted towards his and his extended family's tired ride to get to this spot in the first place. As he got up, he tripped over something, and fell flat on his face. After taking a few seconds to get up and dust himself off, he looked back and saw that it was Ryoko, who apparently had no need for sheets and pillows, for she had none. After being confused about what Ryoko was doing out here for a small while, Tenchi finally turned to the scene before him, and came to Gohan and Ayeka.

"Who are these guys?" he managed to ask Ayeka, after which she proceeded to give him a few tidbits she knew about the DB realm characters outside Gohan, as well as the situation she was watching now.

"Oh, hey Tenchi, I see you're awake," Gohan acknowledged as he turned around and saw the fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on how you look at it) junior lord of the Masaki household.

"Yeah, though from what I hear, it's already gotten kinda tense here," Tenchi noted in reply.

"Back to Kakarot! Where is he?" Raditz hurriedly demanded, before any more of the sleeping fillers could awaken and ruin the mood. But before anyone could answer the question, Kakarot would reveal himself. The door to the Son family home opened, and out came Goku to tell Gohan something about food being ready, until a certain sight stopped him. "Raditz?"

"Hi," the big brother said in an unmoved greeting. Goku finally stepped outside. He was wearing an orange Hawaiian shirt with beige colored pants, and his face reeked of blind wonder as he looked at Piccolo and Raditz standing next to one another, and practically not even noticing.

"Uh, how did you escape from HFIL, or make friends with Piccolo?" was the question that finally escaped his mouth.

"Glad to see you remember me so sourly, now shut up and get ready to fight me. I want to see exactly how much stronger you are," Raditz said in quick retort and instruction to his little brother, leading to Goku and everyone else becoming suspicious right there. "And, I'd like you to see my power, as well."

"I've already see your power, and unless you've grown something crazy, I might destroy you without even trying," Goku said with a competitive smirking gaze.

"Well, I know for a fact you've grown something insane. But guess what: I have, too," Raditz revealed, though this time, he sounded just the same as always. "Thanks to the idiots at HFIL trying to use me as a punching bag, I became a Super Saiyan. After that, they pretty much left me alone. I spent my time watching you guys from the crystal ball in hell whenever I could, as well as training myself within that red cesspool of sticky red juice. Now, that had two positive effects. One, I amazed Goz and Mez, for despite the fact that they recognized me as your brother, to be able to do anything inside that juice is shocking to them. Two, I was able to achieve and **_perfect_** the Ascended Super Saiyan transformation."

"What?" Goku burst in surprise, practically jumping out of his pants. Knowing that Raditz could easily be lying and deceiving them, Goku then looked at his face and into his eyes in order to try and see for himself. It is not very easy to determine whether the younger, warm-hearted, optimistic, and sometimes incredibly dense one of the two brothers was even trying very hard, but he could not even see a glimmer of false braggadocio in the confident, somewhat conceited face of the Saiyan of the Radish Pun.

"Kakarot, would you like to see it for yourself how our powers compare to one another? I'll even go all the way back down there (points to another part of the mountain area far from the Son family home) in order to keep from destroying everything… and apparently everyone, here," Raditz offered. Any doubts about the abilities of Raditz were now officially quelled, since he was actually offering to back it up.

"Sure. I can't wait for this," Goku accepted as he walked a few steps forward and closed the door, his competitive fighting face coming on as he couldn't resist a challenge. At that point in time, though, a couple of someone elses joined Tenchi and Ayeka in the Masaki clan's piece into the world of the awake. And those couple of someone elses were… you guessed it. Ryoko and Sakuya. As Ryoko raised up, she quickly got up and tackled Tenchi to the ground, practically trying to have her away with him.

"Hey, Tenchi. Want an unforgettable moment with the one and only?" Ryoko asked, yet again torturing Tenchi, as well as the patience of the sweat dropped ladies Sakuya and Ayeka, with another incorrectly released and deemed pointless outpouring of love which was also practically a rape attempt at the same time. Ayeka was about to storm at Ryoko over her newest ridiculous attempt to take Tenchi, until an energy blast suddenly started growing from Raditz's outstretched hand. As its glow covered the land more and more, Chi-chi could see it from inside, but more importantly, Ryoko noticed it, as well as Raditz's energy, and found herself a good reason to get off of Tenchi. She did get off, and as Raditz fired his Ki beam towards the ground between him and the Ryoko, she along with Goku, managed to leap up and step away, while the extremely speedy Madri Scholar, Gohan and Videl already ran out of harm's way. Unfortunately, the house shook temporarily, and Tenchi, Ayeka, and Sakuya were blown backwards and ended up being blown into sleeping comrades: Tenchi backed into his father Nobuyuki, Ayeka into her sister Sasami, and Sakuya into Kiyone, the more serious of the two Galaxy Police officers. As soon as the effects of the attack subsided, and Masaki clan members started awakening one way or another left and right, with the exception of at-peace Yugi, not-so-easy-to-disturb Yosho, and unconventionally sound sleeper Mihoshi. Chi-chi unnecessarily kicked the door open and went right towards Raditz, knowing full well the minute she stepped out that he was the one who almost tried to blow this house to bits.

"Hey, you!" she yelled, in the midst of her forward storm. "What do you think you're doing? I can't believe the nerve of you! What are you doing here blasting energy beams at my house? I'm sure this means absolutely nothing to someone like you, but my son Goten is still sleeping right now! And aren't you that mean guy that kidnapped Gohan when he was four and forced Piccolo to kill Goku and start training Gohan into this fighting business? How the heck did you get out of HFIL? Go back where you belong!" The whole while of this screaming, the annoyed-ness was building inside Raditz at this woman's incessant screaming.

"Quiet!" Raditz finally shot as his sister-in-law, effectively convincing her to do so. "I'm not going to kill you, I came here to test my power against your idiot of a husband's!"

"That's enough!" Piccolo stepped in, getting between Goku's wife and brother before they could break into a fight and destroy each other. He then turned to Goku, who was still in the air, as was Ryoko. "Now, are we going to have this power test already, or are more of us going to embarrass ourselves here first?"

"What are you two waiting for? Come on!" Goku said in reply, trying to hurry the situation along so that he could see Raditz's power. Finally, Raditz and Piccolo followed him and left a confused and angry Chi-chi, as well as a dazed and mostly just awakened Masaki clan, not to mention Gohan, Videl, and the Madri Scholar not exactly being at the most visible part of the woods.

As the three flew to get away from the Son family home so as to get their power test and battle on, Goku was initially leading the other two, until Raditz spotted a remote location in the middle of the mountain area which seemed to have subtle signs of a recent crash happening there, which unbeknownst to these guys was actually the location of the Ryo-Ohki spaceship crash. The minute he sighted this, Raditz immediately went straight for the spot, speeding past Goku and Piccolo and forcing them to sprint their flight so as to catch up to him. Ryoko was also still up in the air, watching the three from a distance.

_So these guys are some kinda super-powerful warriors, huh? This is gonna be fun. I'm seeing this,_ she thought as she then began flying in the same direction as well.

Tailed by Ryoko, Piccolo, and Goku, Raditz flew at a high speed towards what only the cyan-haired demon woman and her comrades back at the house recognized as the Ryo-Ohki crash site. Immediately after coming down at a spot there, he tried to collect the fact.

"So, this looks like a crash site. What the heck happened to this part of the earth?" he asked, clearly not in the mood for stalling.

"Yeah, actually, it is," Ryoko disclosed from behind, forcing a stunned everyone to turn around. "It's the place where our cabbit/spaceship Ryo-Ohki crashed."

"Little cabbit/spaceship? I don't see anything," Raditz replied, a skeptical type of counter.

"She's got two forms: a cute little carrot-nibbing cabbit or a really cool spaceship. She crashed here and got back in her cabbit form after we got out," Ryoko explained. Raditz began to understand the sleeping people outside.

"So you're space nomads?" he guessed.

"Kinda. Now, are you gonna show off the strength you've got or what, Raditz? I really want to see it," she said, redirecting the focus of the issue to why they came here in the first place. "Now, Goku! Raditz! Power up!"

"Wait a second!" Piccolo shot in, as the two brothers stared each other in the face with oddly the same competitive smiles on their faces. "Goku, I don't think this part of the planet could take you turning into a Super Saiyan 3 just a day after a spaceship pretty much renders it useless."

"Don't worry. I'm only turning SS2," Goku said, reassuring him. Then came the moment in time, where the two men started building up their Ki energy to awesome levels as Piccolo and Ryoko looked on. Finally, Goku and Raditz each let out powerful screams, releasing even more of their energy so that they could ascend to the levels of Super Saiyan that they set out to display. As the two men's eyes turned green, and their hair turned gold, and their bodies glowed with golden Ki energy, the ground was shaking violently at the sheer presence of the transformation, and the ground was crumbling underneath their feet. A giant crater which probably even took out some trees wound up lying there as the two continued to build up their energy. Soon, it got to the point where each man could feel an electricity flow through their veins. This spark of life was also reflected on the outside in two ways: Piccolo and Ryoko clearing it to watch from a safer distance, and the electricity also showed on the outside of the bodies of Goku and Raditz. Finally, they stopped. At this point, each man's hair glowed, and became more defined, but only that of Goku changed in shape, going straight up as opposed to being all over the place. Both of the brothers had a look of being impressed on their faces, probably both at Raditz: at this point, it was almost as if, as just an Ascended Super Saiyan, he was indeed stronger than Goku at SS2!

Whoa… that's impressive. He's not even at Super Saiyan 2 like me, but our powers are alike to one another, Goku thought, marveling at his once weak big brother's newfound power.

_If I'm looking at him right, he's in the second stage of Super Saiyan power, while I'm just in the second phase of the first stage. And I'm not going into the third phase of that, because even though I could, I'd just become stronger than myself and slow down tremendously,_ Raditz thought as he looked at his hands, beginning to see exactly what his potential of pure power was. Could it be that… that I'm even stronger than Kakarot now?

_I've never seen power like this before. Well, actually I have, but for Raditz to achieve this power, after I finished him so quickly in my first fight as a good guy, and then for him to become this strong in the end, to the point where as an Ascended version of Super Saiyan 1, he rivals Goku at Super Saiyan 2. I don't believe it… this kind of thing doesn't happen everyday! How could a guy like Raditz become so strong?_ Piccolo asked himself in his head, as he was trembling in awe of the power before him.

_Whoa, that was actually pretty darn cool, if I must say so myself,_ Ryoko said internally, with an impressed smile on her face. _If that's them powering up to fight, then it should be a real big show._

Meanwhile, at Capsule Corporation, Vegeta was in the midst of training in the gravity room with Trunks, when all of a sudden, something just abruptly stopped the both of them. It was not Bulma's call, or any kind of extra physical presence in the room. It was something they could feel, a sudden surge of energy that they could sense. And only half of that surge was…

"Kakarot!" Vegeta exclaimed, with both himself and his son immediately wanting to go check this out. The Saiyan Prince then got on the computer controls and stopped himself.

Meanwhile, somewhere else on the planet, in a dark, and even more remote area, two tall figures stood smirking, and plotting their next move. One of them was a man in a dark druid robe underneath a green cape. His hair was silvery gray, and his eyes narrow and black with yellow sclera. He also sported "mini-glasses" (dunno what the exact name is) on is nose. If any of the Masaki clan or any Galaxy Police officers saw him, they would be wondering how he could possibly be alive, and they would quickly recognize him as Kagato, the Ruins Buster/God Ego Man. Meanwhile, the other one had a white face with pink eyes and a purple streak. His neck and chin were equally white, and as for the rest of his body, he looked like a green and black mixture of a super robot and a bioengineered Ultimate Saiyan. If any of the Z Fighter family or the rest of the world saw him recognized him, they would quickly recognize him as Cell, the super perfect bioterrorist of the universe, and whether they believe the fib from Hercule, or the truth about Gohan getting the job done, they would be able to throw in his face the name of someone that destroyed him. True, they were both finished off… but then again, as was demonstrated with all the comebacks from at least one member of both super units that worked against them and other villains, being finished off is not guaranteed in the least bit to end up a permanent result, no matter what the unhappy circumstances.

"Well, Kagato. It seems our plan is working out perfectly, don't you think?" Cell asked, looking over the world with a smile on his face as his arms were folded, for it was time once more for destruction and vengeance.

"Yes indeed. I must admit, I am quite impressed with your abilities. Especially since now, we shall get to rule again, generating even more fear and panic in the galaxies of this realm as a unit than we did before separately," Kagato prophesized, exuding with confidence at the mere thought of getting back to his prior superior stance. Cell looked at him in equal optimism as Kagato continued. "Before, it was about research. Now, it is about revenge. And the universe will know us as the most supreme evil figures of all."

"Now, that's a swell and funny story. But I think I'd rather wait for it. Better yet, it sounds so good I want to become part of it," a strange voice said behind them. They looked behind them and saw an impish, Namek-like cyan-skinned creature in a black robe with a castle signal on the front and center, as well as a light pink cape hanging from around his neck with its hood off. He also held a black vase in his hands, an artifact of some sort.

"Ah, Garlic Jr.," said an acknowledging Cell before noticing the vase in his hands. "And I see you've brought along your vase full of Black Water Mist as usual." Garlic Jr. chuckled at the sound of his darkness awakening tool's name, before speaking.

"And so, we shall have our fourth member, very, very soon."

Meanwhile, back to Vegeta and Trunks, as they made their flying exit from the gravity room at Capsule Corp, then went high enough to be unseen by the untrained eye. Now flying towards the area of Mount Paoz, where they sensed the energy come from. The closer they got to the location, the more exact direction they recognized, and the two were hell bent on going there and seeing what was up.

"So, who do you think Goten's dad is fighting?" an excited Trunks asked his father.

"As long as it's not something to do with Babidi, I can be confident that Kakarot will beat whoever it is," Vegeta answered matter-of-factly. "But still, I want to see who it is. Something strange is going on around here, and it's not just that Kakarot's power is matched by this other person's, but something about the other power seems familiar to me as well."

Meanwhile, back at Mount Paoz, Ryoko flew back to the house, and with the help of Chi-chi and the Ox-King explained to the now fully awake Masaki clan exactly what was going on.

"Goku and his big brother Raditz are over there, and they're actually fighting. They've built up their power into some kind of freaky transformation. Their hair and eyes suddenly turned colors, and the Ryo-Ohki crash site is even more bent out of shape."

"Wait a minute, I missed the part where Goku has a big brother," Sasami said, pouting at the sudden realization.

"Hey, I missed it too, but I woke up before you and I saw the guy show up. Just ask your sister and Tenchi. They saw him too," Ryoko said in her usual plain and nonchalant manner.

"It was that tailed guy in the long black hair, wasn't it?" Sakuya asked. Remember, she woke up at around the same time as Ryoko did, so she saw him too.

"Yep. That guy," Ryoko answered. "You guys okay if I go back and see it?"

"No," Yugi softly but strongly objected to the request. "Not without me you don't. I want to know exactly how much power this is, just so it doesn't end up destroying the universe."

"Make sure you guys get a good gauge on it so you can tell us about it, okay?" Washu instructed, more to Yugi than to Ryoko, since the genius's daughter was not going to pay attention.

"Sure," a smiling Yugi said after a giggle. "I'll see you when we get back." That statement was followed by her and Ryoko leaving.

Meanwhile, the battle between Goku and Raditz was finally ready to begin. First, Raditz went after Goku at such a dashing speed that it appeared he was teleporting to him, before trying to hit him with a hard right hand. Goku disappeared and reappeared behind and above Raditz and came down with a double forearm, but Raditz did the exact same thing. However, Raditz never once reared his head, though an energy blast did come his way. Goku was forced to take the impact of it, following which Raditz did show up, charging at Goku and then taking him into burst mode, where he had complete control. He was attacking Goku left and right, forcing the Saiyan hero to block him constantly. This went on for several seconds, until Goku finally blasted Raditz with a Ki wave, which creamed the Ascended Saiyan in the face. After this, Goku took control with a swift kick to the gut, and a double forearm knocking Raditz all the way back down to the ground. However, Raditz never fell down hard, for he regained control of his body and used his hands to break the fall and hop up, flipping over to land on his feet. Once upright, Raditz saw that Goku was charging towards him closely behind a Ki wave, so Raditz punched the Ki wave back up in the opposite direction, causing it to hit Goku. Raditz then flew up to Goku and began to take advantage, hitting an uppercut to the chin, a left hand punch to the cheek, and a spinning kick to the back of the head, knocking Goku down hard into the crater. Raditz then repeated what Goku did earlier by flying down towards his brother, but did not charge a Ki wave. Instead, he tricked him into jumping away, then teleported behind him and charged up his hands with two powerful yellow beams.

"Double Sunday!" Raditz yelled, calling out the name of the attack as he shot the beams straight at Goku from behind. The blast hit Goku, and charred up the Super Saiyan 2 warrior really badly. However, it also riled up his competitive fire.

Once Raditz saw a tired-looking Goku, he approached him slowly, assuming that now was time to call it quits for this round, but instead was greeted with the back of his brother's elbow striking him in the heart, as well as a super-quick turnaround right hand fist to the face. Goku followed this up with a hard uppercut to the chin, sending Raditz uncontrollably upward, and then a teleport and kick to the spine. He was headed right in the direction of Ryoko, who immediately stopped and went ghost, causing him to go right through her. She smiled a little bit at that action, being quick thinking on her part, while Raditz continued to go tumbling away. But he soon regained his air, and would fly back. Ryoko and Yugi, though, were not the only ones flying towards the scene. Also just arrived there, next to Piccolo, were Vegeta and Trunks. Goku looked in their direction and noticed the Vegeta-Briefs family visitors alongside the demon offspring Namek Piccolo.

"Vegeta and Trunks! Guess you guys couldn't resist the scene, huh?" Goku greeted, as he waved at them.

"So, who is it that you're fighting? I thought it was half and half, but at this point, I get the feeling you're throwing him around like a fly," Vegeta asked while being observant at the same time.

"Yeah, the person I'm fighting happens to have become the perfect example of an Ascended Super Saiyan 1," Goku said, hinting towards the chance.

"You mean Gohan? You two are having a training battle in peace time?" Vegeta asked, shocked at the idea, since he saw Gohan's shape yesterday and realized him to be soft.

"No, I'd probably kill him if I did that during times of peace, seeing as how he only has the great amount of power we know about when push comes to shove," Goku explained, while at the same time correcting Vegeta. "In fact, it's-AAH!"

That interrupting scream was the result of a punch to the side knocking him back by what seemed to be at least a touchdown. And when Vegeta saw that the culprit of that punch was an electrified Super Saiyan Raditz, he was caught gaping at his former comrade. Suddenly, Raditz noticed the extra visitors, just as Goku did before him.

"Prince Vegeta. Nice to see you here again," Raditz said with a smile on his face for once. The entire greeting, from "Prince" to "again", and possibly because of those two parts, irked the curiosity of young Trunks.

"Uh, dad, do you know this guy?" Trunks asked while poking Vegeta in the shoulder to no response.

"Yes. His name is Raditz, and… He's… Kakarot's brother," he explained. "He used to be a comrade of me and Nappa back when we were plundering and selling planets under Frieza's despicable control. But how? How did he come back? And how in the world did _he_ become an Ascended Super Saiyan?" The question was more inwardly and toward himself than anyone else.

"Consider it the result, of his experiences in Hell," Piccolo said as he turned around to Vegeta, having overheard the question.

"The result of his…" a confused Vegeta started to repeat, until he stopped himself as he began to understand what was meant by that statement. An understanding smile came on his face. "Yes! I get it now! You finally got sick and tired of being pushed around!"

"Glad to see you're as perceptive as always," Raditz said, confirming the correctness of this answer.

"So, what are you here for?" Vegeta asked, now wary at this point.

"Nothing much. Just to battle Kakarot and see how his strength compares to mine. Then, I hope to settle in somewhere, so I can finally get Hell out of my mind," Raditz responded with relief becoming the sound of his voice at the last part.

"I'll tell you how I got hell out of my mind," Ryoko interrupted with a smirk. The others looked at her incredulously, as she obviously wasn't talking about the same hell. "I fought as hard as I could to kill hell."

"You're referring to Kagato," Yugi guessed correctly, as Ryoko turned around. "I don't think he's the hell they're talking about."

"He forced me to be a space pirate, just like I'm hearing this Frieza guy forced Raditz and… who is this guy with the major widow's peak again?" Ryoko asked, stopping in the middle of her sentence to do so as Vegeta turned around and smacked his forehead.

"Vegeta, the Prince of all Saiyans," an irritated Raditz and Vegeta both said simultaneously. As a point of emphasis, Raditz pointed to Vegeta while saying this.

"Thanks. Anyway, Kagato and Frieza might as well be hell! I mean, I can sympathize with these two, because Frieza practically did the same thing to them that Kagato did to me!" Ryoko continued on, her rambling making much sense but at the same time being completely pointless. However, at the same time, it infuriated Vegeta, for he saw that his son Trunks had a shocked expression on his face at what he was hearing.

"Shut your trap! Do you think I want my son to know about the things that Frieza made us do? I have a hard enough time dealing with you as it is! I don't even know who you are, and here you are overhearing and excessively repeating these horrible things right in front of my son!" Vegeta yelled, bursting in anger. He was about to go Super Saiyan on Ryoko until Yugi imagined a barrier around Vegeta which adjusted to his body and held him in place. By now, it would strike one as obvious that Goku was back up, but not prolonging the fight, as the atmosphere suddenly changed and was no longer revolved around it.

"Yugi, I think you can let it down now," Ryoko almost yelled, beginning to get a little frantic that maybe Yugi was starting to get back to her former, depressive "horrible child" self again.

"Actually, I want to make sure he's calmed down," Yugi explained to disagree, before she pointed to the barrier and snapped her fingers, making it disappear. Vegeta was now trying to catch his breath, while unbeknownst to him or anyone, Raditz had a certain thought in his head.

_There's something mysterious about this Ryoko woman. It's not really a big bother to me, but I get a feeling that I'm in for quite a few "interesting" days down the line. Where it leads, I'll never know until that point. But I think I just found my answer on how to have fun hanging around these people._

Meanwhile, Cell found himself swimming underwater and looking for something. He suddenly stopped when that something caught his eye, and had a smile on his face. He has just found the last piece to the puzzle for his ultimate plan of destruction.

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Cell: "Prepare yourselves, earthlings and otherwise! You're getting ready to meet four enemies… consisting of the most powerful force there has ever been!"

-Goku: "What? How are any of you guys still here?"

-Kagato: "By the power of a highly destructive set of Dragon Balls we happened to sight on one of Little Washu's favorite resort planets, and through the same hellhole as Raditz, evil has once again relocated to Earth! So, for our next addition to **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, prepare to read and be horrified by **Chapter 5: Nagi's Surge of Black Destruction**. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"


	5. Nagi’s Surge of Black Destruction

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Prime Legend Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: Crap… I made a mistake… that _was_ it for cyberdemon, the story was done… I just assumed it was left unfinished because there was something I thought was unaddressed. My bad on that one. But you still gotta admit, I had a point back there about these people just leaving their last work unfinished and completely disregarding the rest of time. It just turns out Tai was the only completely correct one out of the three examples I found.

Now, off of that subject, let's get on with the next chapter.

Speaking of this chapter, ladies and gentlemen, I just made some edits to it. Nothing major, just correcting a little mix-up on Nagi's weapons. For more details see chapter 8.

**Chapter 5: Nagi's Surge of Black Destruction.**

As Gohan and Videl returned to the area where the Masaki clan was, they saw that the people were now awake. Shouldn't be so surprising, seeing as how that blast shook up the entire area within a touchdown of it.

"So, you guys got any idea how you're gonna live your day around here?" Videl asked, a curious look coming on her face.

"Actually, to be honest, no I don't," Washu spoke up, which temporarily surprised Videl. "But that's actually because we don't exactly have to. That is, if I can find the portal balls right now. See, I've got these two balls that I can use to transport me from one place to the other. Once both are thrown and land somewhere, they turn into tall static-reflecting mirrors. You walk through one to get to where the other is, and vice versa. Only I can turn it off, and once I do, they both end up back together depending which one I use."

"But how does that answer my question?" Videl asked, still not seeing the idea that Washu just had in mind.

"Are you kidding? That answers every question in the world! If I give you one of the balls, as well as a means of communication, then you can find our house. It's a three-story house with a red roof and lots of windows, and there's a tool shed with a blue roof right next to it," Washu explained. Unbeknownst to her, it was at that moment that Goten came out, and he immediately started marveling as he saw the people that Videl and his brother were talking to. "In high areas around it rest a shrine, some woods used as training ground by Tenchi and Katsuhito, and a beautiful lake with a tree in the middle, both called Funaho in honor of Katsuhito's mom. Assuming that the warping of the universe was indeed a slight assimilation of our realms just like this Madri Scholar intended, you should find it out in the middle of Okayama. Once you do, tell me, and then throw your ball just in front of the house. I'll throw mine in front of here, and then we'll all go through this one and end up at the house."

"Whoa, that sounds like a really cool gadget!" was Videl's impressed reply.

"I can easily out-do that, heck, I often do. I'm the greatest scientific entity in the universe, remember?" Washu said, with a hysterical laugh adding to that as her prideful ego once again left everyone in the area sweat dropping.

"Wait a minute. You say you're the greatest scientific genius, right?" Gohan asked, once again trying to make sure.

"Don't get her started, Gohan," Tenchi immediately warned in a desperate attempt to shut up and spare his new friend. "You really don't want to spend your whole day hearing about her scientific greatness, or allowing her to run experiments on you all day."

"Why would I allow her to run experiments on me?" Gohan asked. "And all day, as a matter of fact?"

"Gohan, she's obviously a mad scientist lady who would make you let her if she saw any reason," Goten said plainly as he came forward to them. Washu, before ever being introduced to the kid, now looked at him with her eyebrows tilted down, one of them flinching. As the youngest son of Goku looked at the most eccentric of the Chousin sisters, he then began to make a realization: _Uh-oh. Maybe I shouldn't save said anything._

"Okay, calm down," Videl quickly interjected, stepping in front of Goten as a point of emphasis that Washu wasn't doing anything to the poor boy. "Look. Do you have a cell phone? We need to get this idea going if you guys are going home."

"Sure, but I'm gonna need to see Ryo-Ohki turn into a ship. We packed everything in her spaceship form, because I didn't know what would happen when we made that trip that ended up with us crash landing down there," Washu answered matter-of-factly. Sasami then took Ryo-Ohki up and threw her in the air, during which she switched from her cute little cabbit form and turned into a spaceship, right before the eyes of Videl, Gohan, and Goten. They were taken aback by the sudden transformation, but then began to calm down. They'd seen the exact same thing, except in the form of capsules rather than cabbits turning into vehicles. The name "Capsule Corp" where the Briefs family lived was no coincidence, after all.

"Ryo-Ohki's unique as far as animals, but we actually see something like this all the time," Gohan explained. "That being said, that ship actually looks pretty cool. It's taller than our house."

"Of course it's taller than your house," Washu quickly cut in to brag. "I didn't make Ryo-Ohki just for her to be the cute little cabbit at Ryoko's side. I figured she'd need a cool spaceship like this to travel in, even though unfortunately that ended up in control of the Ruins Buster Kagato." At the sound of that name, a slight shiver started going through most of the Masaki clan members, while Gohan and company immediately became shocked at the sound of that name, for this was one of the villains the Madri Scholar told Gohan and Videl about, wasn't it? Likewise, Washu added, "I'm pretty sure the "all-seeing eye of the universe" didn't leave those details out when he told you about us."

"No, he didn't," Videl confirmed, as she bowed her head in shame and smacked her forehead, aggravated with the fact that this crazy redhead was going to remind her of that annoying guy. Then, a question popped into her mind: "Wait, couldn't you guys easily use the ship to get back home?"

"Sure we could, but apparently _mom_ here wants to give another demonstration of how she's the greatest scientist in the universe," said an easily aggravated Ryoko as she and company just returned.

"Trust me, these two behind me are super strong," she continued, pointing behind Yugi and herself towards the now powered down Goku and Raditz. Piccolo, Vegeta and Trunks were flying above them, until they just touched down. Vegeta looked even more irritable than Raditz, as if that was possible, and Trunks seemed a little bit like he was sulking. Goten, though, oblivious to it, ran to his friend and called out his name, only to get punched hard in the gut as a result. An immediately appalled Sasami stormed up in front of Trunks in response to this.

"What the heck was that about? Isn't that your friend?" yelled the Second Crowned Princess of Jurai as she slapped him afterwards. It turned out to have no effect, as he never really looked at her to begin with. He finally turned towards this strange kid and said something.

"I don't know who the heck you are, but I'm not in a talking mood," Trunks uttered sullenly. Vegeta started scowling, and he eventually turned around towards Ryoko. It was her lack of manners that led to his son's lack of ability to be happy at the moment.

"And that's your fault! Who are you to come here, when I don't even know you, repeating my terrible history in front of my son!" Vegeta finally snapped, pointing at Ryoko with a furious gaze.

"Look, I made a mistake, alright? Get over it. I'm not interested in dealing with a male Ayeka, alright? So shut up already," Ryoko said nonchalantly. This comment ticked off both Vegeta and Ayeka, who was once again referred to negatively by _that incessant demon woman_, who, btw, was not finished. "If it's any kinda consolation to either you or your son, that was then, this is now. Alright?"

"And what do you know about that?" Trunks yelled, following which he charged towards Ryoko. The scene was ironic in the fact that when she repeated Vegeta and Raditz's past, she was actually stating that she had one just like it as well, using it to emphasize that Kagato and Frieza might as well be hell. Unfortunately, when he finally swung at her, he didn't even hit her; he just ended up going right through her, and there was no contact. Realizing this, the young Saiyan upstart looked back with horror in his eyes.

"Y…y-you're some kind of ghost lady, aren't you?" he finally managed to exclaim.

"Only when I want to be," Ryoko explained, still nonchalant about it. "It's one of my abilities."

"Trunks, allow me to remind you something. Saiyans have changed since you were born. Look what the race has grown to become _now_ if you really require any solace about the past," Raditz spoke up. Trunks looked at him and merely got more riled up.

"Oh yeah, what do you know? You were weaker than my… DAD!" Trunks yelled as he charged at Raditz. The bigger Saiyan had no qualms and took no trouble in blocking the kid's attack, then lifting him up so that they were looking one another face to face.

"You didn't live those days, Trunks. You're living these," Raditz said in an attempt to remind him. Seeing Trunks start trying to swing and kick at him even further, he became angry before he continued. "_This_ is your life! That, wasn't! Get out of the past!"

As he said "past", Raditz drop-kicked Trunks (not the wrestling dropkick) halfway across the woods from here. This also knocked out Trunks momentarily, which supposedly gave him some time to think. Finally finished with that nuisance at the moment, Raditz stepped up towards the Masaki clan members and stood alongside them, which may have surprised a few.

"I think I'm going to join up with these guys for now. I'm convinced, among other things, that it'll be a more fun experience than staying with either of you two," he declared, clearly making reference to Goku and Vegeta. "Oh, and Vegeta: you need to talk to your son. Thanks to Ryoko's mistake-"

"HEY!" Ryoko immediately interjected, not wanting to be blamed for Trunks' sudden bad mood any longer. Raditz chuckled at the sight, before disregarding the interruption and keeping on.

"Anyway, Vegeta. The kid needs you to explain the art of change to him, or you could be in for a delinquent," Raditz warned as he and Vegeta looked in the direction of the downed Trunks. "I'm off." He then turned toward the Masaki clan. "What are you guys waiting for? Ryo-Ohki's waiting as a spaceship and not getting used at all. Let's go already!"

"I thought we were gonna use the magic balls!" Washu complained in her innocent voice, putting on a "pretty please" face to accentuate that.

"Not everyone's interested in your bragging. I need somewhere to live, and I'd rather get to it now."

"Wait a minute. Don't we have a say about this?"

"I say, we let him come with us. Since he harbors the same opinion of Ryoko and her lacking in manners, I know he can steer my Lord Tenchi away from the demon woman," Ayeka proposed with a snooty smile on her face. Raditz turned his head away at what this purple-haired pompous princess really expected him to be there to do, and Ryoko fumed at the fact that Ayeka was once again trying to pick at her.

"Well, in that case, then it's no way in hell!" the "demon woman" shouted back.

"And what kind of power is either one of you supposed to have in this?" Raditz asked, condescending towards the two battling belles. All it took was that one note to shut them up, and it didn't even come from Tenchi. Vegeta was impressed; for someone who used to be considered low-level in the Saiyan Army, that was an awesome example of command.

"Well, I say we let him in because he's chosen us! And even if he does have a history of being a bad guy, don't a specific couple of someone elses here?" Tenchi said, finally speaking up and making his mind known on the issue. The "specific couple of someone elses" comment was a reference to both Ryoko and Yugi, and could also hint towards Washu's questionable history as a scientist.

"You guys allowed me and Yugi to become part of the family after what happened earlier, so what could be so wrong about him?" Sakuya suddenly asked. No one expected her to speak unless spoken to in a situation like this, and especially since she was correct, that one really hit home. Consider the fact that she and Tenchi still end up together after she returned, and yet the new family picture still includes Sakuya and Yugi, and there you have it. Even Ayeka and Ryoko, the ones who could be considered her "rivals for Tenchi", could not object: this statement transcended beyond something Sakuya said into a certain level that could not be denied: the brutal truth.

"Whatever Ryoko, the Pompous Princess, or anyone else decides to say doesn't even matter at the moment," Raditz observed, with his eyes closed momentarily. "Come on."

With that, he turned around and led the group towards the spaceship Ryo-Ohki. Within minutes, and following a few goodbyes, the Masaki clan was leaving in their spaceship, heading for home in Okayama. Meanwhile, Hercule and Buu hadn't been seen throughout the entire scene there ever since that blast from Raditz. Videl looked over at her jet copter, and she saw exactly the reason why: those two went into the jet copter because Hercule was scared of Raditz. She looked at the scene strewn about: Vegeta and Goku both going over to pick up their injured little sons, then carrying them into the Son family home. Piccolo standing there with his eyes closed after looking at the whole thing incredulously. Hercule and Buu finally coming out of the jet copter after hiding in there for the longest time. So as to put on his World Champion act to his friends, Hercule went through the motion of clearing his throat and momentarily closing his eyes as he and Buu walked over.

"Wow. Weird events to the day, huh?" Hercule asked, trying his hand at starting a conversation so as to break the eerie silence.

"Speak for yourself. This stuff all happened right in front of us, and you two were hiding in the jet copter!" Videl quickly shot at her father and at Buu. She wouldn't be the only frustrated woman in the mountain area, as soon, you could hear Chi-chi screaming at Vegeta back inside the house.

"WHAT? You mean to tell me that your little ruffian of a child had the nerve to injure my son?"

"Well, don't blame me! That space pirate girl was the one that got Trunks all angry about my past!" the Prince of Saiyans was heard yelling in his own defense.

"Well, whose past was it? Hers, or yours?" Chi-chi was heard demanding.

"She had one just like it! And the fact still remains, she's the one that was talking!" Vegeta was heard countering.

"Could you guys calm down?" Goku was heard asking his wife and best friend, trying to become the peacemaker in the situation, only to receive a resounding double command to "Shut up!" as a result.

Now, just in case anyone thought that a certain place called the house at Kame Island was forgotten, the place current had Goku's former teacher Master Roshi trying to sneak a picture of Eighteen from behind as she was laying stomach-first on the couch, wearing her Red Ribbon Army skirt outfit (except the RR logo was taken off the back of the jacket). At a somewhat convenient point, she turned around and noticed him with his camera over his shades.

"Don't even think about it," she said with a chuckle as Roshi was scared out of himself for half a second. He immediately put away the camera and cleared his throat so as to put on an act like he wasn't doing anything. Luckily for Roshi, Krillin was out in the black convertible jet Bulma made for him and Eighteen earlier, or that guy might have killed his old teacher or laughed at his face. Yamcha wanted to come over, and his car was broken down, so Krillin went to pick him up. As for Marron, she was out playing with Puar, Oolong, and the Turtle, so she really had nothing to do with this scene either.

"I wonder how Goku and the others are doing. I've yet to see them in awhile," Eighteen suddenly remembered aloud.

"You know, I get a strange feeling… that something's up with them right now," Roshi said while they were on the subject. "But I don't think it really is anything bad. Perhaps, there's a situation… where they found some new friends."

"I did notice a change in the atmosphere, though, yesterday," Eighteen noted. "I don't know why, but I just don't think that was an ineffective natural occurrence."

"I sensed some kind of warp, and it wasn't natural. But I also think that's where the new friends must have come from. I haven't sensed anything evil so far," Roshi added to the point, with a good point of his own. But that still didn't mean he had no ridiculous (but even more so on this end because he's actually right for once) wondering statement.

"Maybe there happen to be some pretty girls among the new friends!" he wondered (very) aloud, followed by his slightly crazy laughter at the thought. Eighteen was obviously fazed by this statement, again being bothered by this crazy old man about pretty girls. The fact that this piece of the topic didn't apply to her this time didn't exactly change things at all. In fact, as he was laughing, she up and smacked him in the back of the head was a hard right hand, stopping him abruptly and giving him a huge bump on his head.

"Someday, you old geezer, you'll learn," Eighteen calmly shot, as she went back to resting herself.

Meanwhile, we could see a cloaked figure looking over towards the sky, trying to sense or find something, standing in the middle of a large area of rock mountains, just like the one that Dr. Gero escaped Vegeta and company in back during the Android arc. This figure was wearing a kind of dark cape with a hood over their head, and there was a recognized set of red eyes. If one looks into the hood from an underneath angle, they can notice a small peak of silvery blue hair on the person. Some may be able to immediately recognize who it is, whilst many others may not. The person also held some kind of mainly golden somewhat staff-looking sword in one hand and a light blue hilt-like device in the other.

_I'm not holding on to those stupid "honor code" ideas anymore,_ the person thought. _Especially not after what happened to my pet. If I'm to draw that murderer and her friends out of hiding, it'll have to be something drastic… like finally getting to the point of causing destruction. I need to thank the "powers that be" that made me realize this, once I finally get her._

Unbeknownst to Krillin and Yamcha, now they were flying their comfortable black convertible jet above the figure.

"So, they've been brought up to the land of the Supreme Kais, huh?" Krillin asked, apparently repeating something that Yamcha told him earlier in their conversation.

"Yeah. Apparently, Tien felt like he could learn a lot from the Kais just in case something bad happened," Yamcha explained. So it was true that Tien and Chiaotzu were not coming back… well, at least now someone knew where they were in case any friends ever wanted to visit them…

"Hey, I ran into your first girlfriend the other day," Yamcha mentioned as his old friend was nonchalantly driving and drinking water at the same time, causing Krillin to spit out the water at him.

"Why did you have to go and tell me something like that? Can't a man be allowed to get over his worst disappointment in peace? I've got Eighteen now!" the once-bald little man complained as a result, until he gained an idea and grinned. "Or maybe I should constantly remind you of how you screwed up and became your own reason for losing Bulma to, of all people, Vegeta! But that would be worse, because you couldn't find anyone after that!"

"Shut up! Are you trying to embarrass me?" Yamcha commanded as he punched the driver in the head. It was just at that time that the flying car vehicle came into a certain dark figure's view.

_Ah, a nice flying convertible. They told me someone was coming by in this. Perfect start to my little rampage,_ the figure thought as the figure tightened the grip on the light blue hilt and swung it upwards, as it revealed its true form as the handle to a pink laser whip, which stretched up high and struck right through the car and cut it in half. The car, with Yamcha and Krillin screaming and getting dizzy inside, spun out of control and eventually crashed into a rock nearby. Suddenly, something appeared, touched the figure, and disappeared with it, reappearing where the crashed half of the car with Krillin and Yamcha eventually fell. The second one, which moved so quickly you couldn't tell who it was, disappeared and left the uncloaked figure there to face them. Once the two got up, they saw the figure and immediately guessed that it was responsible for the mess they were currently in.

"Who the heck are you?" Krillin asked, a fighting scowl coming on his and Yamcha's faces.

"Not your best friend," the person said, in a dark and strong yet female voice.

"You're darn right you're not! Kamehameha!" Yamcha called out, as he launched a Kamehameha wave at the mysterious figure, who was able to roll sideways to avoid the blast. The person then ran at Yamcha, leaping forward after a few steps, and kicked him in the head upon falling. The kick was hard enough for Yamcha to be sent sliding down a few feet. Krillin raised his right arm in position to attack with a Kien'zan (Destructo Disc), which desperately failed, for the mysterious one swung the laser whip at the disc, intercepting it at once. The mysterious one then used the golden standard power strike sword on the other side and thrust the sword through the center of Krillin's chest, effectively killing him. His heart was no more, his blood was spilling around him, and his body was breathless; lifeless. He was just murdered in cold blood by a fighter far superior to him, and the lack of care this character showed about it was just nothing short of mortifying. Yamcha was able to struggle and pick himself up in time to see this horrible sight, and was horrified at seeing how easily and horribly this could happen to Krillin. The person finally took off their hood, and it was revealed to be a woman indeed, with red eyes, a couple of black marks on her left cheek, and a head of silvery light blue hair, with a blue hair band up top.

"See ya," she said, bidding a foreboding farewell to Yamcha as she used her laser whip to ensnare Yamcha tightly, causing him to scream in pain and struggle with all his might. However, the figure could see that he was still alive, so she tightened her grip further and further until he finally passed out and met his strangled end. Finally, the figure relented the whip and let go of its grip, after which the pink laser part of the whip finally disappeared. The second figure appeared once again, but did not disappear super quickly. Then, one could see that it was Cell.

"Well, Nagi. That was a handy beginning to your surge of black destruction, wouldn't you say? This wasn't just a couple of strangers in a car you just destroyed. Those are Krillin and Yamcha, who happen to be two of the weaker Z Fighters," Cell explained to the woman, as she turned to him with a smile on her face. "This is bound to raise some fireworks, and bring our enemies to us."

"It sure is. I can't wait to see the look on Ryoko's face when she realizes exactly who's in on this. For the first time in awhile, I feel like I'm actually having fun," Nagi revealed almost a little excitedly, as she chuckled and closed her eyes. "Where are shrimp and Kagato?"

"Garlic Jr. is on the verge of revisiting… an old memory of his. And Kagato has taken the trip with him. I take it they want to personally deliver the news to Krillin's wife Eighteen," Cell answered with a smirk. "It will not only serve as heartbreak once she realizes it for a fact, but will be a perfect way to send the message: we are here."

"You were right. I truly do feel a kind of surge flowing through me… like you said, a surge of black destruction. The likes I will need to catch Ryoko and everyone else," Nagi said, a sudden dark seriousness appearing in her voice as she said this. "Now, the Black Star Balls you said you used to revive Kagato: if the two realms are different, how did the balls end up on one of Washu's favorite resort planets?"

"The same ones are to thank for that planet's imminent destruction who are to blame for the terrible condition of your cabbit: Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki," Cell answered. Meanwhile, the Madri Scholar spied on this scene from behind another one of the rock mountains, and a panicked session of thoughts entered his head:

_Great. The chance of an evil outbreak like this. The one critical chance which could ruin everything just had to be the one I forgot and overlooked! And how did Cell manage to get to Nagi like this? True, she craves to personally see Ryoko dead, but surely there's no way she could be persuaded to do this to a couple of the Z Fighters via conventional means!_

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Eighteen: "Krillin's gone!"

-Vegeta: "No! That's a joke, right? There couldn't be a threat! Not now!"

-Ryoko: "Crap, I think I sense something really familiar… could it be that… _he's_ back? And that **he's** responsible for your husband's death, Eighteen?"

-Gohan: "Whoever it is that just killed Krillin and Yamcha… mark my words! There's no way you're getting away with this!"

-Cell: "Ha ha ha ha ha! That's what you think! It was us all along! Next on **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, we finally make our first full move in **Chapter 6: Revelation of the Shadows**. The universe shall prepare for a reign of terror the likes of which it has never seen! Nothing will stop me from fulfilling my design! I am perfect!"


	6. Revelation of the Shadows

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Prime Legend Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: This chapter is the one where many things are made clear. And if there's one thing that isn't clear to me, it's where everything in the Masaki house is. So excuse me for any mistakes I make in that regard, and anyone reviewing, be sure to remind me of such.

Wondering where I came up with the idea that Nagi could kill Krillin and Yamcha that easily with no actual powers? Easy. We know she has no special powers of her own, but she is said to have extraordinary strength and combat skill. Plus the weapons are pretty cool and impressive. Heck, she even came close to beating out Ryoko when they fought in the Universe series. Besides, I have no intention of billing the TM characters as significantly weaker than the DBZ characters.

And as for any specific Ayeka fan who happens to be reading this, any and all pieces of animosity Ayeka shows towards Ryoko and/or Sakuya are not meant to pick on Ayeka. They are merely implications about "the great legendary feud for Tenchi", and how she refuses to not have him.

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot to mention something. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to the American Airlines Arena for an NBA championship game! And I will be proudly cheering for my team, my squad, the Miami Heat, as they try to even up the series at two apiece, proving to those damn Mavericks that it is far from over. The bad part of that is I may be delayed as far as when I can get the next chapter down.

LATE NOTE: I went to the game, and we killed the Mavericks. Not only that, my squad's got the championship now! HAHAHA! WOOOO! But what I really made this late note for is that I just figured out the possible mistakes I made in the Masaki house geography, so I have made the personal decision to correct that.

**Chapter 6: Revelation of the Shadows.**

"And this up here's my room," Tenchi finished, walking inside it as a somewhat unimpressed Raditz looked inside from behind the future Shinto priest. "Not to be demanding or anything, but I might need to have you around as a roommate, because Ryoko has this habit of watching me while I sleep. I'm actually kind of used to it, and outside Sakuya, Dad, and Grandpa, she's the closest to me in the house, but I still need to have at least one day where she's not looking down for an opportunity to pounce on me."

"I'll think about it," Raditz said gruffly. This was about five hours since the Masaki clan left the Son family home. They spent about four and a little something of those five hours on a trip through space. Washu had stood awhile complaining about not being able to use her teleport balls, until she suddenly gazed at Raditz with wonder in her eyes. The wonder was not of love, however; it was of her noticing that he was quite an impressive specimen. She kept looking at him funny, as if examining him, like the scientist that she was. He was creeped out by the sight of the Chousin girl looking like she wanted to experiment on him, but thrust it into the back of his mind as he noticed Ryoko and Ayeka arguing again. Mihoshi was awake and laughing about it, thinking she was watching a show, while Raditz was smirking and snickering in the back of his mind. However, just like when he had made his first arrival on the planet, he sat at ease, his eyes closed. He looked even more at peace than Katsuhito and Yugi did, except for those few moments when he saw Washu observing him. Nobuyuki took the opportunity to go to sleep, but figured he was getting fired tomorrow after Katsuhito had to once again call his boss to say that he wasn't going to be able to go to work today. The stress was a little much, so Raditz had to wake up and knock him out with a light punch to lighten him down a little bit. Washu did point him to a few resort planets that she saw in the distance, and surprisingly, he didn't show any great amount of remote interest in these places.

He had just been introduced around the house, seeing all the rooms. He had been slightly impressed (more like speechless and in some cases appalled) with how truly the rooms contrasted each other. While Washu's "mega-closet lab" (which Raditz had to _somehow_ sneak around in so as to avoid being experimented on by the most eccentric "non-evil" scientist in the history of all time) was neatly organized and full of all sorts of scientific material, you had her daughter Ryoko's room on the second floor with much lacking in organization, along with a huge littering of sake, liquor, and pictures of Tenchi stamped all over the place. Kiyone and Mihoshi's room was really a mixture of the two. Looking inside the room, then at the two first class Galaxy Police officers, he could truly see that Kiyone was trying to keep things as organized and neat as possible, while her ditzy little curse of a partner always managed to create an imperfection which by sheer dumb luck did not turn into a disaster. For a moment, he even felt as annoyed as Kiyone with the space police version of a "California dumb blonde". Old man Katsuhito was the omnipotent wise one, so naturally, his shrine office up at the mountains was the place he usually did business and relaxed his mind in, while Ayeka and Sasami's room happened to be the most impressive one there. The décor in the room was actually quite simple, with a couple of futon beds, a few plants and small trees, and a small assortment of beauty objects. But there was something about that which added to the feeling which could often be generated from their outfits and manners: that although Ayeka was the only one who often displayed an ego streak, they were both royalty of Jurai and darn proud of it.

Washu's lab was the _potentially_ most embarrassing scenario, if the Saiyan wasn't as resourceful as he was. What turned out to really be the most embarrassing scenario was the onsen, the relaxation pool/outside hot tub of the house. What Tenchi had failed to explain to Raditz was that this was basically the girls' spot which they "owned control over" for the most part, and the ones there at the time were the volatile combination of Sakuya, Ayeka, Sasami, and Yugi. Ayeka had gotten riled up with looking at the two that are responsible for her not having Tenchi in her arms, and when they tried to reason with her to grow up and get over it, she sent in her guardian pillars, Azaka and Kamidake, to strike them down. Unfortunately, that was when Raditz walked in. Already charged for their lightning attack, the panicked knights-in-wood turned around and were unable to cool their attack before it ended up hitting Raditz. The girls came together and enjoyed a laugh, including Sasami, who opted to stay out of the argument as far as a speaking part was concerned. Sakuya and Sasami made a few jokes after Sakuya referred to the pillars as "monster busters", as she had done Ayeka and Ryoko back last time in Tokyo. An annoyed and flustered Raditz tried to make a retort, only for Ryoko to burst in, tossing him aside and telling him to move over, this was "our spot". Tenchi, who stood a few feet away for good reason, enjoyed a laugh of his own, irritating Raditz into telling him to shut up.

Now in Tenchi's bedroom, the sight that Raditz saw was just what you'd expect from the 17-year-old kid of the house, including the fact that it was up on the third floor directly underneath the roof. The windows on the roof over the room were a nice touch, though. Speaking of rooms, and the experience at the onsen, a question popped into his head.

"And where exactly would the shadow girls' room be?" Raditz suddenly wondered aloud, in reference to Sakuya and Yugi.

"Somewhere in Washu's lab," Tenchi explained, surprising Raditz quite enough, as the Saiyan didn't notice any semblance of a hidden room when he looked in there. "You probably didn't see it because its location is as strategic and sneaky as you were in navigating there without being caught by Washu. She really looked at you like she wanted to run tests on you or something when we were on Ryo-Ohki."

"Yeah? Well, I wasn't concerned," Raditz lied easily enough with his eyes closed in trying to look tough. He finished that thought in his head; _Except for the part where I was going to be raped by science. That would have been completely embarrassing._

"That was quite the funny experience there at the onsen, wouldn't you say?" a certain pure and wholesome accented voice (Ayeka's) could be heard saying behind Raditz at that instant. Raditz looked behind him and saw that Ayeka had an innocent-sounding closed-eye smile. This caused him to growl in embarrassment a slight bit.

"That wasn't funny. If I could have walked into Washu's lab that carelessly, I'd be getting experimented on," an aggravated Raditz said in an attempt to shut her up. She put a hand over her mouth and chucked at the sound of that.

"I'm sorry. But that was very uncouth and foolish, how you could walk into the onsen with no warning that any of us could be in there at any time," Ayeka continued in recall. Raditz was growing an irritated face.

"What are you doing, Ayeka?" Tenchi asked, beginning to grow wary of the situation. Almost as soon as he said that, Raditz noticed that Ayeka was trying to get him riled up, anticipating a certain scenario to be the result. He then grew and confident, all-knowing, closed-eye smirk.

"Heh. I knew it," Raditz said, his tone calmer so as to emphasize that he just figured it out. Ayeka and Tenchi both looked at him with slightly confused faces. "You're trying to get me out of here so that you can finally have your moment with the "love of your life", "Lord" Tenchi, aren't you, Princess? Well, guess what: I'm actually going to help you this once. Besides, he was just showing me around the house. It's not like we're long-lost best friends catching up on anything."

On that note, Raditz flew up to the roof windows, and opened them so as to get out. As he found the view of the waters in front of the house quite impressive and relaxing, Ayeka looked up at Raditz with a smile on her face. It seems he was willing to help her get as close to Tenchi as possible at least this once, so as to get back at him for the onsen incident. This actually turned out to be a pretty good day. Ayeka and Ryoko haven't had a catfight since the group came back in the house with Raditz, (they actually teamed up against Sakuya and made a pretty successful argument in an impromptu bantering contest over Tenchi _(who else?)_ after the Raditz embarrassment) and she ended up benefiting from each part of Tenchi and Raditz' little incidental battle of wits. Not to mention that for once, Kiyone wasn't screaming to Mihoshi about messing something up or almost decapitating a body part off of her, as they were watching episodes off some of Mihoshi's favorite Space Police Policeman shows (there was a marathon), and other than that Mihoshi just went to sleep and Kiyone got Videl's cell phone number from Washu (who, despite no need for the teleport balls, got the number anyway as a friend) so that she could keep in touch with her. Things were a bit weird today since Raditz came about, but a possible explanation is that this was generally one of the better days.

"Well, today was as hectic as usual, though not in all the same ways," Tenchi said, summarizing the day for no reason other than to bring Ayeka back to reality. Escaping her little daydreaming moments, Ayeka turned to him, and saw that he was smiling at her. She also managed to have enough focus to hear what he said at the same time, though barely.

"I would agree, Lord Tenchi. But I am a little suspicious about this Raditz character that has suddenly entered our home. He doesn't seem very… refined as a person," Ayeka reluctantly near-whispered to Tenchi.

"I see what you mean, but I don't think he's gonna cause any trouble," Tenchi replied. "At least, no more trouble than you can cause when you and Ryoko fight over me."

"Or when Washu's inventions result in chaos, or when Mihoshi's unmoving piloting of a Galaxy Police ship somehow results in damage to the house," Ayeka added defensively. "At least Ryoko and I fighting contains a defined purpose."

"Hey, everybody! Dinner's ready!" Sasami's voice then boomed from the kitchen, just at the appropriate time. Ayeka was getting sore at Tenchi's every even somewhat negative reaction to anything she did lately, a clear sign that she was having an even harder time understanding or even accepting the sudden relationship between Tenchi and Sakuya. (What she really failed to get was that it wasn't as sudden as she thought: the buildup towards Tenchi getting involved with someone else was that the Ayeka-Ryoko situation was getting intolerable. Then, Sakuya came along; she was everything that Tenchi could possibly want, and much more normal than the others to boot. The cards for Tenchi and Sakuya hadn't been laid _just right_: they'd been laid **_perfectly_**.)

"Shall we go?" Ayeka asked the object of her devotion, dismissing the notion of sadness at Tenchi pointing her out just now and still not getting the point in the parenthesis.

"No doubt about it. Sasami's cooking is always delicious," Tenchi said with excitement at the subject as the two closed the door to his room from the outside and began to go downstairs. Ayeka began to link arms with Tenchi until he looked at her knowingly and condescendingly, which prompted her to let go. Unbeknownst to them, Raditz had also started coming down a the sound of "dinner's ready", and watched in unimpressed disgust Ayeka's latest (and first for him to officially witness) pathetic attempt to get a moment with Tenchi. She'd often forgotten - somewhat intentionally - that he told her he didn't want to do that, especially after it happened in front of Sakuya one time and almost caused some chaos once. Had Kiyone not arrived suddenly and intervened with a personal chastisement of Ayeka, and had Sasami not disrupted the entire scene by announcing that food was ready as she just did, it would have been the first full-blown three-minute war over Tenchi that included Sakuya; in fact, the first that wasn't between the two exclusive parties of Ryoko and Ayeka. And that would have been a moment in history capable of causing a chain reaction which would result in relations between Sakuya and Yugi, and the rest of the people in the house (esp. Tenchi), would never be the same. Sasami was known for interrupting moments that could have potentially blown over into the destruction of some sacred relationship or habit in this house. Sometimes she could hear the hectic situation and would decide to cut it off right then and there before anything terrible suddenly chose to happen; other times it was just pure luck that her meal was prepared at those exact moments. But either way, it was still that way.

Anyway, as they got down to the table, they found that Sasami had it decked out, filled with enough bowls of hot, steamed white rice with numerous donburi toppings for everyone. She was even able to assume from Raditz's look and disposition actually which toppings he liked best, including the assumption that being of a warrior race, he was not afraid to see unatamadon (broiled eel with vegetables) among his toppings. With everyone except Washu seated and prepared, the group dug in using chopsticks, and were immediately impressed with Raditz's eating habits. The Saiyan's appetite even blew that of Ryoko out of the water. He looked like he wanted to ask for "more please!" a hundred times, but guessed that Sasami was not completely prepared for this.

"I know you can take more than that just from the look of you," Ryoko finally broke the stunned silence that befell the family. A devilish smirk then broke out on her face as she continued with the rest of it. "And I also know that it's a crime to underestimate Sasami's cooking. Do you really think she wasn't ready for having to bring out another few dishes?" The minute she uttered those words, impressed cheers started going around (from Mihoshi, Nobuyuki, Sakuya, and Tenchi specifically) and Raditz just turned around straight to her. As heavenly as that statement sounded, he had a little bit of trouble believing that this nine-year-old kid had the patience to make enough dishes to satisfy a Saiyan warrior's appetite whilst dealing with each and every one of these people's. However, when Sasami came with three more plates of donburi, Raditz immediately dug in: even with use of the chopsticks, he ate quickly and savagely; enough, as was stated earlier, to put Ryoko to shame in a pie-eating contest if he wanted to.

The group turned around when they heard the lab closet door open, as this was Washu's habit: experimenting on people and things, tinkering with new gadgets, or thinking, in her lab, only coming out when she wanted to get something to eat, somewhere during lunch/dinner time, and when she needed to speak to someone, which was usually her daughter Ryoko or Tenchi. She also spoke to Sakuya and Yugi often, but their room was in her lab, so it was completely unnecessary to come out, unless they were not there.

One notable example of the "when they were not there" scenario was when they accompanied Tenchi on his stroll at the foot of the lake a couple of months back. Yugi was explaining to Tenchi and Sakuya that last time, Yugi had created Sakuya with a specific personality concocted solely for the purpose of keeping Tenchi with her and away from the other girls, which happened to be a byproduct of Yugi's link to Sakuya, the physical manifestation and presumed future reflection of Yugi's shadow. In fanfic layman's terms, Sakuya being a part of Yugi made her come out as Yugi's own personal Mary Sue. However, while she was in stasis, it had become clear to Yugi that she truly was not meant to become Sakuya as Ryoko had speculated earlier, so she was able to sever all physical links between the two of them when she reincarnated Sakuya, therefore allowing her to fully tap into her own personality, as well as actually have organic energy of her own rather than live vicariously though Yugi's whims. Washu was looking for her so that she could explain this very same thing, as she had noticed that Sakuya did have an organic energy that could be described as that of a "mutant humanoid", but soon found herself, for once, on the late end of things.

To be truthful, Sakuya wasn't that much different, except not as clingy or damsel-in-distress-like as last time, and she was able to channel the boisterous piece to her personality better so that she wasn't simply "the annoying cute friendly girl" anymore. Ayeka, however, failed to see the difference. What she saw was "her Lord Tenchi" spending time, kissing, being in the kind of relationship she had longed for so much, with "that insignificant hussy product of the horrible child", just as much as before. The fact infuriated her to seemingly no end… _seemingly_, that is. Just to foreshadow a few facts about the evil threat of an alliance that they had yet to uncover, they would be surprised to find out the true meaning of "infuriated to no end."

But back to the here and now. Raditz had just finished eating the second of the three dishes, when he reached for the third one and wound up grabbing nothing. Turns out, Washu managed to swipe it from his person and started eating some of it herself, much more neatly than Raditz had. And that's standing up.

"What are you doing? Stop that!" he shot at Washu. She replied with a goofy, innocent grin. The rest of the group got a kick out of seeing that the new ferocious eater of the house just got tricked.

Meanwhile, as the Masaki house became occupied by the art of having excessive fun, they were oblivious to the fact that Master Roshi's island would not be filled with the same fate. In fact, Kame House was infested with a detrimental immaculate concept, via the imminent arrival of a certain two bad guys: Kagato and Garlic Jr.

Over the past five hours, Marron had stopped playing with the pet-people and her mother helped her go to sleep after no answer came from asking where's daddy. Master Roshi spent this time balancing between watching the women's fitness programs and just relaxing on his hammock out on the beach. Even to this point in time, Krillin and Yamcha still didn't come back, and it wasn't until now that Eighteen, who was sleeping herself, suddenly felt a sharp tug at her heart, which woke her up from her own dreams. Having a bad feeling about something that probably had to do with Krillin, she stepped outside. She instantly found herself face to face with a certain two bad guys; one of which she recognized from some of Krillin's stories, the other which was completely new to her except for appearing before her and choking the life out of her and everyone she held dear in a bad dream she had two weeks ago. Her face immediately became one of battle-ready distrust as she saw the two of them, looking at her with smiles of unfriendly intent on their faces.

"Hey, big guy. I'm assuming your short stack friend here is Garlic Jr., and I think I may have seen something like you once in a dream," Eighteen quickly got to the point. The tall, snake-headed one in grayish light blue hair, with black, narrow, yellow-toned eyes opened his mouth in apparent fascination while still keeping an evil smirk on his face. Eighteen's suspicious frown turned into an angry scowl as she saw this figure smirking.

"Just who are you, and what are you doing here?" she finally snapped, yelling at the two figures.

"Well, you guessed right," the cyan-colored Namek-looking imp finally spoke. "I am Garlic Jr. I'm assuming that Krillin told you all about me and my earlier attempts at conquest. Glad to know he remembers me. Thank you. As for my friend here, I'll let him speak for himself."

"My name is Kagato. I am a scientist. And a destroyer of things," the bigger man said, introducing himself to the cyborg belle for the first time. The minute he said "destroyer of things", Eighteen's eyes became wide in horror, realizing that he was exactly capable of crushing the world as she had seen. Then, the shock turned into anger, as she got herself into fighting move and charged at Kagato. He sidestepped her right hand swing, then took her with his right arm and threw her backwards, against the wall of the house. The wall bent and cracked a little bit at the impact of the blast, and Eighteen felt a devastating surge of pain at that instant. Kagato and Garlic Jr. walked over to her, then Kagato grabbed her by the neck and held her to the wall as she continued to struggle with the pain.

"Ha ha ha ha ha. Listen carefully, Android Eighteen. I have excellent news for you to deliver to all of your friends. You may go ahead and tell all the ones you know that Krillin and Yamcha never made it back," Kagato instructed with his usual evil smirk. Eighteen's eyes and mouth suddenly opened, as she was trembling at the sound of her husband dead. Master Roshi looked on in horror throughout the entire scene sitting in his hammock.

"No!" she then shouted, managing to shake her head in disbelief despite Kagato's grip on her neck. "I refuse to believe it! I don't believe it! He can't be gone!"

"They found themselves in an unfortunate snag at the end of the day. Last we left our two allies, they were anticipating the pass-by of your husband and his weakling friend, ready to do away with them very easily," Garlic Jr. informed her, still smirking darkly. "From the fact that they didn't come to us and interrupt us, I could tell that everything went as planned. Plus, I can't sense your precious Krillin anymore, or that garbage Yamcha. If you tried yourself, you'd realize the same thing: you can't sense him either."

Only that that point in time did it really start to sink in. When they're smirking confidently, and without any prompting from you, they provide clear cut evidence that they dare you to find a counter to, the realization that they speak the truth is very hard to not abide by. Eighteen found herself motivated to know exactly who did this, for whoever had the damned nerve to kill Krillin like that was going to be destroyed and taken straight to hell.

"Who… who the hell are these two allies you're talking about?" she decided to inquire, almost yelling at the top of her lungs.

"You may recognize one of them. He had to escape HFIL," Garlic Jr. hinted, a dark grin forming on the features of the serpent demon's face.

"Oh, and just to finish the rhyme, Eighteen: his name, is Cell," Kagato finished, after which he finally let Eighteen go. The two villains backed up, and flew away in a series of evil maniacal laughter as a force barrier covered the both of them. Shock developed on all watching faces (including Oolong, Puar, and the Turtle at this point) as they heard the devastating news, and the blonde was left on her knees, trying to fight off the pain and the realization.

"No… he can't be… it can't be over… not after all that he…" was what barely escaped her lips, as tears of shock and pain started pouring out of her eyes. She was struggling with the emotion of the pain of loss: she refused to admit it to herself, but Kagato and Garlic Jr. were right. She could not sense her husband's life force anywhere on the planet. It was at this point in time that Eighteen remembered just about everything. From being released by Gero in the "good doctor's" lab, to the battle against the Z-Fighters at that highway where she gave Krillin that little peck on the cheek, to him choosing to spare her life and crush that controller he could have easily deactivated and destroyed her with, even to him staying by her side during Cell vs. Gohan after she was forced out of Cell's stomach. Then she remembered the time in between then, the admission that she and Seventeen were really cyborgs, to her finally submitting to feelings for Krillin: him growing his hair out, them getting married, and the daughter they left on this earth. Everything they had gone through together, and this is where it ended up. Gone. Without her there. Like that. And once again just like 8½-9 years ago, _Cell_ had something to do with her life becoming a living hell.

"Krillin, no!" she finally wailed, letting it all out as she understood the situation. A sharp pang of sadness echoed across the isle, not only at hearing that two of Roshi's students and the group's longtime friends, were dead, but also at seeing Eighteen cry for Krillin as if she was begging for mercy from God himself.

Meanwhile, back at the Son family home, Vegeta and Trunks were gone, and Goku and his sons were washing their clothes by hand as instructed by the frustrated Chichi.

A few seconds into the current scene, and Goten stopped at one of his shirts, then sat down and took a break, starting with a long sigh and wiping his forehead. "Man, I'm tired. Dad, Gohan, do you think Vegeta and Trunks will be okay?"

"Don't worry about it, bro. I'm sure Vegeta's gonna be able to talk some sense into Trunks if he hasn't already," Gohan reassured his brother as he continued working.

"Knowing Vegeta and his ability to get something across to his son, he's probably snapped his kid out of it by now," Goku added, even more assured than both of his sons combined of the fact. Then he suddenly dropped the shirt of his fighting outfit, and a look of wide-eyed horror came on his face. He had just fully realized something that was tugging at him all day since shortly after.

"Oh, no…" the hero froze as he said this. His sons knew this was something serious, and were almost hesitant to ask him what was going on. Gohan finally had the nerve to ask him what happened after what was actually ten seconds but seemed for a small moment like ten years. Goku took just as long to answer, and he was in a stunned tone as he did.

"I can't… sense Krillin's energy… anywhere in the living world… and I haven't even sensed a trace of it for the last five hours…"

Meanwhile, back inside the gravity room at Capsule Corp, Vegeta and Trunks were inside, not for training, as they hadn't adjusted the gravity at all, but for a heart-to-heart father-and-son talk. In fact, it had already started by this point.

"This is ridiculous! You finally received the history lesson you needed about the Saiyan race, and that possessed you to go crazy in front of Kakarot and all his visitors and start attacking our friends!" Vegeta yelled, clearly upset at his son for his actions at the Son family home.

"Well, I had a reason! I just found out that Saiyans were weak enough to be controlled by someone that I destroyed!" Trunks shot back at his father.

"Key words: _were_ weak enough! Are we now? No! And for your information, it was not you that destroyed Frieza! It was the _future_ you, and he admitted that Kakarot could have easily done so!" Vegeta corrected his son harshly at that very instant. "Now, calm down so that you can listen to me!"

"Look, I had a dream when I got knocked out. In it, I saw everything for what it was, what it grew into, and what it is. I mean both for the Saiyans, and for Ryoko, so I know what you're trying to tell me. But I didn't bargain for all this stupid yelling to go along with it!"

"So what are you going to do about it? Do you understand that I'm terribly disappointed in your actions back there? Never mind you being out of your mind, you were completely out of yourself!" It took hearing that from his father for Trunks to finally shut up. After looking at his father, he saw the anger in its true form: strict but kind, like a king. Trunks then bowed his head in shame, realizing how badly he just screwed up.

"Sorry, dad," he said sadly, barely loud enough for his father to hear. "I did screw up." Then, he found the courage - and the words to say - via which he picked himself up. "I get it. The Saiyans are just a fighting race. Started as nothing more, became something more. Then that piece of trash Frieza came along, took over, and the race was nothing more than a common military of brutes. As far as we know, the takeover was before you were born. And then… well, you've lived the rest, so there really is no point in saying anything else."

"So, you won't embarrass me like that again, right?" Vegeta asked with a smirk, realizing that somehow, his son got the point, and he didn't even have to speak to him. Trunks smirked back, shaking his head, and responded by saying, "Actually, no."

"Good," Vegeta concluded as he put a hand on his son's head, then crouched down to look him in the eye, a smile developing on the elder generation prince's face. "Now, here's another secret I'm going to let you in on. That weirdo I met yesterday has made it somewhat of a minor mission statement to insist on you getting together with Sasami."

"Who's Sa… wait, you mean that blue-haired girl that came up to me after I knocked out Goten today? Oh, don't worry. She looks pretty cool, and kinda cute, but I'm not falling in just for that. I'm not like Yamcha. I don't go after any good-looking idiot my age. That's his job," Trunks boasted, sharing a laugh with his father at that statement.

"Ahem. Congratulations. You get it. But there's something else I need to speak to you about," a certain voice spoke within the room, abruptly interrupting their moment. The father and son duo looked to see…

"The Madri Scholar! What are you doing here?" Vegeta immediately demanded.

"Before I went off to find out the information that I came here to tell you, I saw the plight that Trunks was in, and shifted around his undefined, ridiculous, fairy-tale dream - which I can assure you would have had nothing to do with Sasami - so that it became one in which deceased Saiyans of the planet's past, such as Bardock and King Vegeta, explained to Trunks here the history of the Saiyans, so that he may finally get the point and cool off. Apparently, it was a success," the Madri Scholar explained first, stunning the two for a small piece of time.

"Well, for that, I have to say, thank you," Vegeta acknowledged in a somewhat reluctant and annoyed tone, a small piece of him not believing that he was actually expressing gratitude to this bum. "Now, as for your information?"

At that point, the Madri Scholar's face became more serious, stirring up a furious curiosity within the Prince and his child.

"What you hear from me is a sad note in the history of today. But what you must also understand is that it is to be taken as a warning. A warning that past enemies, from both your realm and the Masaki clan's realm, have returned for the sole purpose of revenge and domination, and will stop at nothing to get their path."

Meanwhile, we go back to the Masaki clan. The dining session was over, and people returned to doing their own things as the sun started setting at seven. Tenchi skipped the farming and finally got around to training with his grandfather, while Nobuyuki was relieved to find that he was not fired. Mihoshi finally started making a mess of hers and Kiyone's room, losing her Rubix cube which was right next to her and pretty much damaging everything in the room in order to find it. It would only be an hour until they had to go on patrol as the Galaxy Police officers that they were, which would most undoubtedly result in the end of them. Kiyone was now in the process of pulling some strings with the Galaxy Police and with Videl, so that Videl could pilot the Yamada ship instead of Mihoshi. She didn't really know how much better Videl was, but surely she looked like something impressive enough to not crash into the house. As Ayeka tried to look for soaps on the TV in the living room and Washu went back to her lab for more scientist stuff, Ryoko and Sasami were actually sitting at the base of the waters in front of the house together, wondering about something. Raditz was standing on the roof, overlooking them from above.

"I don't know what it is, Sasami, but I think I have a bad feeling about this night," Ryoko admitted to her little friend.

"A bad feeling?" a curious Sasami then decided to inquire as she looked at her friend. She could sense the lonesome worry in Ryoko's eyes and wondered what was wrong.

"Yeah. I kinda get a feeling that… maybe this is the calm before the storm, ya know? Like something real bad's about to come this way," Ryoko went on in a somewhat depressive and wary tone.

"Ryoko, this has been a pretty weird couple of days, but I'm sure that everything's okay," Sasami reassured. Ryoko, though not fully comforted, sullenly replied with a nod. She could see something in the stars, in the look of the universe, that seemed as though it was completely wrong. An unusually clear redness in the sky was flooding this sunset, and it was a step towards unnerving Ryoko. Fortunately, Sasami was not the spoiled aristocrat that her big sister was, or Ayeka would probably mock her for finally lacking confidence or something. That's when the sudden arrival of a nightmarish vision came into Sasami's mind.

(The vision contained a kind of bio-robotic creature; he had a white neck, and a face that was white on the front, yellow on the sides, and purple in between, as well as pink eyes. His body was mostly black and green, and looked like a bioengineered robot of some kind.

"My name is Cell. I am an indestructible bio-android, and the most perfect being on the planet!" she could hear him shouting, followed by a maniacal laughter, which subsided as did his appearance in her vision. Following which she saw a certain clerical-looking snake-headed villain gripping a young, blue-haired blonde by the neck.

"Number Eighteen, your husband is dead!" Kagato could be heard exclaiming, following which he laughed maniacally. This scene disappeared, not by fading, but by being cut in half, followed by the scene of the young woman screaming out the name "Krillin" and crying her heart out, as if this was a recently lost love.)

Ryoko looked at Sasami and noticed that she was struggling with something she was seeing in a dream. The blue-haired Jurian princess suddenly opened her eyes and gave a fast gasp, and a concerned Ryoko asked her what happened.

"I saw something… I saw some big scary-looking guy named Cell… then I saw Kagato choking someone, a blond woman he called "Eighteen", then he said her husband was dead… and after that, I saw her crying for someone named Krillin…" a scared Sasami managed to utter, after which she went into tears and fell at Ryoko's lap. Ryoko stroked her younger-looking friend in an effort to comfort her as she wondered about something.

_Wait a minute. Last time she had this precognition thing, that's when Kagato reappeared. Could it be that… the whole premonition is really true? That Kagato's really back? And that **he's** the one who killed this Eighteen girl's husband?_ She wondered aloud, anger building within her as her thoughts developed to mention the one that enslaved her for centuries. This caused her to grind her teeth and clench her fist a slight bit, a reaction that also befell Raditz as he overheard the mention of Cell's name.

_You've got to be kidding me. Cell is back? After he showed up in HFIL, he was the main one that pushed me around! And now I'm finding out he escaped Hell as well? How did he do it? How did I not see it! I can't believe this!_

As Sasami cried on Ryoko's lap, she hid yet another fact about this terrible vision: it had started hitting her when they first re-entered the house with Raditz, but through some severe case of willpower, she purposely held it back awhile, wanting to have fun with her friends and see what it was to worry about later. Later was now.

An insignificant (in this case) secret that time would hold back from her is that due to her stalling this vision, a certain instance of precognition became more of a latent clairvoyance.

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Sasami: "Are you kidding me? I can't believe that Nagi would kill someone out of the clear blue like that! I knew she wanted to catch Ryoko, but I thought she was beyond doing stuff like that!"

-Ryoko: "Nagi, that's low, even for you! Apparently, some people never learn."

-Garlic Jr.: "Oh, she did learn. That her goal to take out Ryoko was more than just a motivation to clear a blemish off her record, and that no matter what, only this road would lead her to success."

-Raditz: "So, Cell's back at it, and with a new army, huh? Well, here's my opportunity to get some payback: he was the main one that pushed me around at HFIL until I became a Super Saiyan! Next on **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, I demand a crack at Cell, while you all are treated to **Chapter 7: The Gathering Forces**."

-Katsuhito: "We must strike when the time is right. Reckless vengeance is not an entity that leads to success."


	7. The Gathering Forces

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Prime Legend Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: I actually have no note on this one. The mood will have just tensed as realizations are made.

**Chapter 7: The Gathering Forces.**

Immediately, the situation tensed overnight. Needless to say, one way or another, all groups figured out the fact that several former villains have returned to form a dark faction with the intentions of revenge and takeover, and that this faction did away with Krillin and Yamcha with ease. At the end of the day, they knew that it was Cell, Kagato, Garlic Jr., and someone else. Even the Masaki clan became worried, which was surprising because nobody knew Krillin or Yamcha, with the exception of Raditz, who didn't seem to be moved by his death.

At the Son family home, the house at Mount Paoz, Goku's inability to sense Krillin stirred his sons into trying to find him themselves. None of them were even able to get any kind of a link to his central energy, or that of Yamcha, for that matter. In its place, they sensed a slightly building up malicious energy capable of bad things. It was then that they realized the horrible truth: someone, or something, of evil proportions was on this earth, and this evil had killed Krillin and Yamcha.

This was the same horrible truth that the Madri Scholar had gone on to reveal to Vegeta and Trunks after he finally helped Trunks get the matter straight about the Saiyans. Eventually, in both homes the wives found out, and the rest of the night was all a silent, sullen session of remembrance to Krillin and Yamcha accompanied by a few (not very many, just a few) tears. The "few" part came from the fact of the Namekian set of Dragon Balls' ability to revive Yamcha and Krillin as many times as necessary, and from the spontaneous seriousness that overcame Vegeta and Trunks, along with Goku and his sons, about the nature of this dark force. They realized that they had a threat to vanquish, before _everyone_ ended up getting hurt in the same capacity as Krillin and Yamcha. Despite natural worry of the wives, as well as Chi-chi not wanting Gohan to go to war again, even the wives understood the graveness of the situation and readied for the pending battle scenario without any arguments. There was one oblivious party, however: Dr. and Mrs. Briefs. But that was only for a… very brief period of time.

Master Roshi and company saw when Kagato and Garlic Jr. terrorized Eighteen and told her the news, so naturally, they were stunned. Marron was sleeping at the time, but almost five minutes after the fact of Kagato and Garlic Jr.'s forcible entry, she awoke to hear the terrible news from her mother and cried right along with her. The tears subsided by the end of the night, due to the same realizations earlier described as the reason for bountiful wells of waterworks not forming elsewhere. However, the mood in this was somber and serious. The hard hitting realization also sparked some tears out of Puar, Yamcha's good friend and one-time companion.

When Gohan called Videl with the news, her instant reaction was that she was going to go over to the Son family and comfort them. However, she had to stay home and tell Hercule and Majin Buu the news, as well as make sure everything was okay on her end. She also contacted Kiyone and through her informed the Masaki house about the evil and the deaths. This confirmed Sasami's fearful "premonition", as well as completed the cycle of the negative mood coming onto all our heroes. The members eventually decided to conglomerate up at Kami's lookout atop the center of the earth. Piccolo, Dende, Mr. Popo, and the Madri Scholar were there waiting for all of their friends to arrive. Soon, the small mass arrived, little by little.

First, Goku and his family flew in via instant transmission. Then, Bulma came in the Capsule Corp jet car, with Vegeta, Trunks, and even Master Roshi, Eighteen, Marron, and Puar. After them, Videl arrived in her jet copter, with Hercule and Majin Buu behind her. The final arrival was that of the entire Masaki household, including Raditz, with the exception of Nobuyuki, who needed to go to work and took it as a release of his own. They arrived in a Galaxy Police patrol ship.

"Well, looks to me like the gang's all here. Including the Masaki clan," Dende said with a sigh as his voice clearly spoke for itself the words "miserable guardian trying to be cheerful here." That same attitude was reflected in the rest of the group, all for specific reasons which had something to do with either missing the fallen, recognizing the slayers, or both. Even Raditz was having trouble finding what words to say. For the first time in his life, he was actually speechless at a memorial service. Back in the Saiyan military under Frieza, Saiyan soldiers used to die all the time. They never had an impact on him like this. And what's more is, he barely knew who the heck Krillin was, and he didn't even care about him. Finally, with a heavy heart, the Madri Scholar stood in front of Dende, Popo, and Piccolo, and prepared to speak to his friends assembled in the area.

"It's a very unfortunate occasion, this one we're gathered for," began the all-seeing eye of the universe. "When I intertwined our two realms, I figured something good was going to come of it. I completely overlooked the possibility that this was going to happen!"

"What are you talking about, Madri Scholar?" Vegeta immediately demanded.

"Do I really have to tell you anything? By now you should know what's upsetting me," the Madri Scholar countered as Vegeta ground his teeth in reply. "It's become clear to me that Cell, Kagato the Ruins Buster, Nagi, (gasps across the Masaki clan) and Garlic Jr. are all assembled together in an evil force. And Nagi, with transporting assistance from Cell, did away with both Krillin, and Yamcha."

"Who is this Nagi person you're talking about?" Eighteen sharply demanded no later than the Scholar finished. Ryoko then moved from among her closer friends to Eighteen, with all seriousness reflected on her face. As Ryoko approached her, Eighteen stopped, and turned towards Ryoko with confusion reigning on her face.

"Nagi happens to be a bounty hunter that's been hunting me down… for crimes I committed back when Kagato had control of me," Ryoko finally explained as she was right in front of the cyborg. Surprisingly, there were no surprised reactions from anyone, including those that had seen her for the first time. "Apparently, she's dropped her little honor code for some dumb reason. The last time I saw her was when we entered the portal that, thanks to a certain clumsy friend of mine (Mihoshi, who happened to be oblivious to the fact that she was being referred to), came out of Ryo-Ohki and warped the universe until we finally got in and closed it. We were inside Ryo-Ohki, my pet cabbit, in her spaceship form. Nagi has a male counterpart of Ryo-Ohki, named Ken-Ohki, who happens to have fallen in love with mine. They came in together, and split suddenly after we got to the other side of the portal. We ended up crashing in the middle of where Goku and his family live, but I have no idea where Nagi and Ken-Ohki went."

"So that's what happened. The warping of the universe, the hole in HFIL… that was your fault," Raditz guessed about his comrades, having just about figured it out.

"Our? Fault? Excuse me, Raditz, but the Madri Scholar attacked us and made us think it was Nagi because apparently he knew what was gonna happen! And last I recall, that's the only way you were able to get out of there!" Ryoko roared in reply.

"Quiet!" Vegeta instantly ordered in anger, silencing them. "This is ridiculous! I can't believe we're actually talking about how you got to this realm when there's evil on our hands, and what's worse is, it's actually important! We're in this boat in the first place because of the Madri Scholar!"

"Hey, enough! I just made a mistake by not counting on this to happen! That doesn't mean I'm perfectly to blame! If you had the talent and opportunity to start a chain of events which would lead to someone's second chance and more protection for part of the universe, you would have overlooked more than this!" the Madri Scholar thundered at Vegeta, stunning him in the process.

Meanwhile, as this painfully pathetic scene was going on, Marron was starting to well up again. Not only was her daddy taken away, but now friends were fighting because of it? Yugi, out of the corner of her eye, noticed this happening, and immediately teleported herself over to Marron, who was slightly smaller than her. Putting each hand on a shoulder of the heart-wounded child, Yugi smiled at Marron in an attempt to reassure her.

"Don't worry. It's okay. The bad people who did this to your dad will get theirs. But I don't think he would want to see you cry. Besides, if this evil Kagato could be brought back to life, he can be brought back. Right?" Yugi said, reassuring the smaller kid that it was going to be okay. Marron retained the rest of the tears and nodded, but not entirely for Yugi's statement. Being around the Z Fighters, she knows a little bit about a certain few special artifacts called the Dragon Balls, the very means by which her daddy could be brought back to life. Eighteen, who was also right next to her little girl, and Piccolo, with his long-range hearing antennae underneath his head garment, both smiled at Yugi for this.

_She's come a very long way from letting her imagination run wild on the world,_ Sasami thought, also smiling from a distance as she observed her close friend. _If I remember right, she used to be the one crying like this, when she was afraid and vengeful._

"I used to train with those two. To hang out with them. To be their friend," Goku said in remembrance of Krillin and Yamcha, bringing the topic back to the ones slain by the vengeful bounty hunter. This small piece to a eulogy awakened something within him. Something that said it was once again time to get ready to fight once and again with everything he's got. And judging from how easily their death came about, this could be the toughest one yet, even with the new allies. "Mark my words, Cell's alliance is not getting away with this!"

"How do you suppose we get them, Kakarot?" Raditz asked his brother as he addressed him by his Saiyan name.

"Don't assume that to be an easy answer," Goku replied in a voice halfway between his usual fighting voice and his whisper.

"Maybe Buu can turn them to candy and eat them?" Majin Buu asked hopefully, referring to his Henka Beam. Vegeta looked at him with the most serious gaze, which told him that it was the wrong idea, even though he didn't get it.

"You really think they're unprepared for that? Next thing you know, in their preparedness, they will discuss taking care of you, and decide that the easiest way is to turn your food blast against you. And last time that happened, everyone else was eaten up as a result, and before that the world below us was liquidated by a Human Extinction Attack!" the Saiyan Prince shouted off and reminded the pink puffball, who didn't completely get it after that.

"So… you think Buu's Henka Beam is bad idea?" Buu inquired once again, somehow not certain of the answer.

"Yes, it's a bad idea!" Vegeta shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Vegeta, relax!" Bulma ordered immediately. "Buu was only trying to help."

"Yeah, well he can try harder," Vegeta retorted, putting a cocky smirk on his face as if he didn't care about the fact. This drove Bulma into a steaming anger.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU JUST SAID THAT!" she roared at him in anger.

"Relax. I know he was trying to help. I was just kidding around," he replied calmly. Everyone watching crashed to the floor in response to the incredulous statement. Vegeta, noticing the crashes, smacked his own forehead and crashed to the floor himself. Everyone picked themselves up pretty quickly after that, following which another member arrived: none other than Kibitoshin, the fused Supreme Kai. He came in front of the Madri Scholar and the "official staff" of the Lookout, so as to face the myriad of others

"For those of you that don't know who I am, and I can already tell who those might be, I am the Supreme Kai. My name is Kibitoshin. I watch over this realm of the universe and help with threats," he said, introducing himself to those that don't know him (namely the Masaki clan). He did not sport any happy smile of any kind on his face, because this was a serious matter.

"I think I have some information that you should hear about the four villains. I'm sure you already know who they are by now," Kibitoshin said, looking back at the Madri Scholar for a few moments of time before he faced forward once more and continued. "As Elder Kai and I watched over through our crystal ball, we ended up seeing Cell attack a strange new planet. It seemed like it had been occupied very much, but we never saw it before. We guessed that it was a byproduct of the fusion of the realms, and a resort planet at that. On that planet, he found a set of Dragon Balls. The only problem was: they were a different kind of Dragon Ball. These balls had the same stars on them, except those stars were black. He used these black-starred Dragon Balls, with their red Dragon, to revive the evil space scientist Kagato."

"What?" Princess Ayeka burst out in disbelief. "How could anyone ever attempt to revive that cretin?"

"We don't know exactly how Cell escaped HFIL, or his own already-occurred death, but the only possible theory I see so far is that he left his halo behind using instant transmission at a precise moment in time," Kibitoshin continued.

"That's it! That's exactly what I did, except a different way! But how did he…" Raditz started to exclaim, stopping himself in his own tracks. Kibitoshin had just said the answer. _Instant transmission. The move he borrowed from Kakarot._

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Awesome perception, Supreme Kai! And thank you for providing us with such entertainment. It was absolutely… well, pitiful to watch," a voice noted from above them. Down flew the four figures of evil, getting close to entering the throne room. Thunder sounded from the sky, as the planet itself (not its people) began to anticipate this struggle of epic proportions. For the first time, the two forces of the combined realms are standing against one another: good vs. evil. And this time, it would be tougher than anything that any of the heroes have ever faced before.

"Nagi, I never thought you would be cruel so as to kill someone's husband like that!" Ryoko immediately chastised the cloaked bounty hunter.

"That's Nagi? That's the one that killed Krillin?" Eighteen instantly asked Ryoko, who turned to her and gave her a nod.

"Well, I'm sorry you feel so heartbroken, Eighteen. But you realize, you're not the one I've been looking to get back at all this time," Nagi began, taking the hood off of her head and revealing herself. "But believe you me, I stopped caring the minute I felt this pain."

"What? What are you talking about?" Eighteen demanded.

"What justifies you killing someone that had nothing to do with you?" Vegeta instantly backed her up, curious and furious at the same time.

"It's actually very simple, really. When Ryo-Ohki and Ken-Ohki came out from the other side of the portal that warped the universe, the two ships ended up separating and crashing in different places. That much, you know. What you don't know, and probably wouldn't care about considering it's me, is exactly how the ships separated. Ryo-Ohki actually ripped herself from Ken-Ohki while we were coming out, not even fully out of the tunnel, injuring him in the process. Compared to my ship, the way yours could have possibly spun out of control would have looked like nothing if you were to see it," Nagi explained, venom increasing with each syllable. She looked like she was struggling with a past pain now herself. "And when we finally landed in the water, and I got out of Ken-Ohki, and he regained his cabbit form, I saw his bleeding wound, where he was severed because of Ryo-Ohki. And what else I saw was even more disgusting to me: I saw Ken-Ohki's tears."

"Tears?" Ryoko asked, still confused at this point. "I don't see why Ken-Ohki would start getting teary-eyed."

"At first, I thought Ken-Ohki was crying because he was hurt, so I tried to find something to help him heal, but then he just let out a huge howl. I could read its intention from that: it was screaming for Ryo-Ohki," the blue-haired bounty hunter went on, somewhat ignoring Ryoko's question. "Right then, I realized that the injury was extremely painful, but that wasn't the main cause of the tears. My cabbit's heart was broken, and he had no desire to live. Ryo-Ohki ripped herself away from him, and now she's in such a better position than him… all healthy, sitting there on Sasami's shoulder… while my pet is living a near-death experience which it has no will to live!"

"And that gives you permission to kill people? What in the world convinced you to destroy Krillin?" Goku demanded in his harshest tone.

"Why, the realization that if she didn't kill anyone that was Ryoko's ally or that was likely to become Ryoko's ally, then there would be no way to be able to reach her. That's what," Garlic Jr. spoke up, to which Nagi made no reaction.

"You! How did you do it?" Goku asked angrily at the Serpent Prince. He remembered him from only one occasion, and was told of the second, but nonetheless, did not like him at all.

"You are completely hopeless, Kakarot. I thought you would have figured it out by now," Garlic Jr. taunted, causing Goku to tremble in anger. The purposeful use of the name "Kakarot" sparked some anger in both Vegeta and Raditz as well: no one is allowed to use his Saiyan name instead of his Earth name without full Saiyan blood coursing through their veins!

"Let me guess: that dark mist of yours?" Piccolo sneered as Garlic Jr. looked at him, impressed at the fact that he actually caught on.

"You're right. But she already wanted to kill Ryoko with a fervent passion after what happened to Ken-Ohki. That's why we found her, and then we convinced her to finally drink from this," Garlic Jr. explained while holding his vase full of Black Water, "so that she may get rid of those virtuous qualities that have always made Ryoko elusive to her. Now, let me explain why her and why not take away Ayeka for this. First of all, none of us were ever looking for minions. We were looking for allies. Furthermore, Ayeka would not truly want to kill Ryoko, because if Tenchi were to find her out doing something like that just to have a better chance at him, then he would hate her for life, and she would be so remorseful from that. To fully escape that, she would need enough Black Water to completely lose control of herself, making her no more useful than a minion. Meanwhile, Nagi had no pending regrets from killing Ryoko anymore, for the exact same reason as came the personal motivation to. One teaspoon of Black Water would do. Therefore, Nagi was easier to bring to our side, with her full self intact. Obviously, this makes her part of our alliance as a member rather than an underling, and a much more suitable person for the role than Ayeka."

"I think they get it. You can stop now," Cell informed his smallest partner in a seemingly bored tone, before turning to their enemies in light. "Now, let me tell you exactly what we are going to do. We will strike you down spontaneously. Any given time, any given place, any given victim, any given one of us. Therefore, don't expect to have a picnic unless you're hiring picnic guards. Soon, you will all join Krillin and Yamcha on the "heroes killed" list! Our revenge will be accomplished, and once that is so, there will be nothing standing between us and the universe!"

All of our good people had to stand there and endure the crap that was coming out of Cell's mouth.

"Oh, um… one second. Cell, who's the extremely long haired one in the black and brown armor again?" Kagato asked his tall green bio-android partner very loudly, so as to tick off the person he was talking about.

"Raditz, the fool who couldn't spot me coming out of HFIL," Cell boasted with a little snicker afterwards. Secret note: Raditz was not the only person whose name begins with an 'R' that had to struggle with anger at hearing the dark side shoot their mouth off.

"Oh, yes, Raditz. I have a little message for you. We have a certain list of people, a top eight within your midst, that you might want to worry about more than anyone. The list, in no specific order, consists of you, your brother, your eldest nephew, your royal highness, Ryoko, Washu, Tenchi, and Sakuya," Kagato announced. As his cackling laughter echoed through the universe, the eight specific targets all stood with horrified gazes, especially at the mention of Sakuya's name. Sure, she was created by Yugi, from a part of the mutant Jurian, but Yugi did not give her any kind of powers or abilities, and based upon the fact that Yugi had completely severed Sakuya from her in the reincarnation, the idea of that seems impossible! And on top of that, these villains were beginning to get excessively annoying.

"Kagato, I thought you were dead," Ryoko finally spoke up through her teeth. Her clenched fists and grimacing face clearly hinted that she was in pain. "Now I find out you're back… and you're out killing people!"

"Oh, speak of the demon pirate slave. Hello, Ryoko. It's nice to see you after so long," Kagato ignorantly replied in politeness, grinning darkly whilst inwardly remembering how the last wait took so much longer that this was mere reverse flattery.

"Someone should really start telling you and your friends to cram it, you monster. Go back to whatever hellhole you came to life out of," Ryoko quipped, having no qualms about telling this guy exactly how she felt about him.

"Why, Ryoko. You've broken my heart. How could you treat an old friend so callously?" Kagato asked sarcastically, before breaking out into laughs. The others followed right along with the act, including Nagi. Finally, someone began to have enough of this alliance of darkness, and decided to speak up. That someone, happened to be Tenchi Masaki.

"That's it. I've had enough of you guys running around, murdering people, and then bothering us as if we had nothing better to do than to listen to you!"

"Oh?" Garlic Jr. stirred, seeing the anger rising in the Masaki child. "And what better things do you have to do, huh? Can you answer me that, you unprepared boy? From the look of you, you're still as meek, and probably as futile, as anyone here that can fight."

"Three things, Garlic Shrimp," Tenchi instantly cut off Garlic Jr., speaking up and stepping up to the plate when necessary. "One; life doesn't like its results to be expected. Two; it's often said the meek shall inherit the earth. Three; one better thing to do than to listen to you is to destroy you!"

"And you think you could ever pull that off?" Garlic Jr. asked in false curiosity. In his eyes, this mere kid was way in over his head.

"Be a little more careful, Garlic. He can generate a three-wing form of the ultimate defense, the Lighthawk Wings," Kagato remembered to advise the smallest member of this un-Christian coalition.

Tenchi chose to ignore the props, as his regular outfit suddenly changed into his white-colored Jurian battle uniform, and several Jurai warrior markings appeared on his face. Impressing those among the others that never saw this sudden change before, the shift from meek shrine boy to mixed blood soldier proved that he was indeed prepared to face the Dark Prince of the Makyo Star, Garlic Jr.

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Tenchi: "Okay, who do you think you are?"

-Garlic Jr.: "Since you decided to yell at me, I think I'm the one who's going to take you out. But I challenge you to disagree."

-Tenchi: "Technically, I'm not in the Jurian royal line anymore, but I still have Jurian blood in me, as well as human blood and a serious distaste for people like you!"

-Nagi: "And why are we supposed to even care?"

-Goku: "I should have guessed that kind of answer coming from the killer of Krillin."

-Nagi: "Funny. I should be saying something like that to Ryoko."

-Ryoko: "Me? What the hell's your problem?"

-Kagato: "You'll be surprised to know this, Ryoko, but your mistake to infuriate Nagi had nothing to do with me. Coming up on **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, Young Master Masaki becomes the first in a long line of victims of our human/Jurian/Saiyan multi-genocide in **Chapter 8: First Encounter, Tenchi Faces Garlic Jr**."

-Raditz: "I could have sworn this was my opportunity to battle Cell!"

-Cell: "Oh, you'll get that chance soon enough."


	8. First Encounter, Tenchi Faces Garlic Jr

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Prime Legend Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: I believe that by not speaking during the villains' intervention, Vegeta and Raditz were out of character (at least more than anyone else). This will be corrected… immediately. Oh, and don't assume I don't have a back story as to how Garlic Jr. escaped the Dead Zone or is apparently stronger than we've seen.

And, I finally found the geography to the Masaki house and shrine, and turns out, my memory failed me into a mistake, both about that and Nagi's weapons. (mixed up which was which) I'll correct both errors, but obviously Nagi's weapons first, because it's easier to do.

Also, though I am very experienced with wrestling matches and somewhat RPG styled fights, and am used to highly varied battle lengths, doing a non-RPG powered anime fight that actually has a start to finish might give me a little trouble, and I cannot prolong it to take more than one chapter, especially as long as my chapters are. So, combine that with my uncertainty over Tenchi's material conversion skill and/or how the sword is supposed to strike if it's not gonna cut or kill someone, and there you have why this took a little bit longer than usual for me to get this chapter in. Thanks to all who stay with me on this one so far, but now it's time to keep going.

**Chapter 8: First Encounter, Tenchi Faces Garlic Jr.**

Vegeta was looking on at the scene in front of him. Those four ne'er-do-wells seriously ticked him off, despite the fact that Cell was the only one he knew. So why was it that he actually stood there and said practically nothing to them? And that this… meek… **boy** was the one who stepped up to the plate to fight Garlic Jr.?

_What is this? I'm the prince of all Saiyans! What the heck is wrong with me today that I'm beaten to the punch by this kid? I would understand if it were Raditz or Kakarot, but not some meek boy with a lineage from some other-realm planet! Not to mention the fact that the energy signal I'm picking up from this Garlic Jr. is as diminutive as his size!_

"Boy!" the frustrated Saiyan Prince instantly yelled at the end of that thought. All figures turned around, as finally, Vegeta was starting to get back to his old self. "If you screw up this battle, I'm fighting next! I have no will to watch you or anyone lose to this insignificant shrimp!" Finally, Garlic Jr. was drawn into the tactic that trademarked Vegeta's battles; Vegeta was known for manifesting his ego prior to a battle in order to either infuriate or intimidate his enemies. Garlic Jr. was caught in a combination of both as he scowled and trembled in anger, thinking less about his confidence and more about what Vegeta said. Vegeta and his wife looked at each other with smiles on their faces, their eyes communicating to one another the words; _That's more like it._

Then, Garlic Jr. remembered: this wasn't Vegeta's own fight, it was Tenchi's. And they cannot be considered similar. Garlic Jr.'s smirk redeveloped on his face, as he now began to walk towards the Masaki child.

_I don't know what it is, but for some reason I don't think he's as weak as he was before either,_ Goku suspected, watching the fight carefully before it even began. And it turns out, Goku was actually right, for before he knew it, the battle-ready semi-Jurian went from staring a hole through Garlic Jr. in a battle-ready stance to getting kicked in the spine by the serpent demon. His speed in that movement completely impressed the others, and Sakuya was driven to run up to Tenchi calling his name before Kiyone, Gohan and Videl cut her off at the pass, telling her it wasn't a wise and safe decision. Assuming that the boy had nothing, Vegeta stuck his hand forward and began to charge for a blast at Garlic Jr. However, Tenchi rose back up to his feet with very little difficulty, then signaled to Vegeta to back off for the time being.

"H-h-h-h… how did you…" a stunned Garlic Jr. tried to ask.

"I was trained better," Tenchi revealed, a credit to his grandfather Katsuhito, although he definitely can't credit all of his ability to him. Garlic Jr. then let go of his trembling "state" and put his usual smirk back on his face.

"Heh heh heh. Good, now I can have a real challenge and unlock my true power," Garlic Jr. explained.

"But how is that possible? I destroyed Makyo, right?" a confused Gohan asked, only to get laughed at by Garlic Jr. as a result.

"My, my, my. How quickly you forget. Cell was rid of his power source at one point in time, and even he became stronger in the end before you got rid of him," Garlic Jr. then reminded him and everyone else once finally done laughing. "I could easily turn this explanation I'm about to give you into a novel, but I'll spare you the details I think you already know."

"Just get on with it before I step in and destroy you!" Vegeta snapped, again frustrating Garlic Jr. for a few seconds of time.

"Alright, fine. Since you want to get back to what I was told is your usual self and start rushing me again, I'll tell you," Garlic Jr. said, his subtle confident aura disappearing in his voice, replaced by a tint of irritation. "Basically, when that portal of Ryo-Ohki's warped the universe, something happened; it was a kind of subtle interaction between my body and the Dead Zone around me, which basically consists of the darkest world in the universe giving up a significant sum of its essence to me. This power exchanged allowed me to seep out an unnoticed dark cloud upon the world, which was actually my exit portal from the Dead Zone. Therefore, I escaped, and I am stronger, and it has nothing to do with a power source such as the Makyo Star."

"Inspiring," Ryoko replied sarcastically. "Why don't you just go back to your Dead Zone and take all its power while you're at it?"

"Because, my dear former slave, the transaction could only take place during the warping of the universe," Kagato cut off her question at its endpoint, ticking her off as he continued. "And besides, if he took all the essence of the Dead Zone, it would have no essence left. He would be an all-powerful entity within something that is no longer of existence. Thus, he would cease to exist."

"Thanks, especially for the fact that you really are a genius. I was afraid I would have to waste my tongue with more than my share of whippersnappers," Garlic Jr. acknowledged, following which he immediately fired a Ki blast at Tenchi, expecting him to be completely unprepared. However, Garlic Jr. was to be sorely disappointed, for Tenchi was waiting for a sucker punch sneak attack like that one. He'd already drawn his Tenchi-ken sword and taken it into light saber form, which he used to block the attack. Garlic Jr. launched another couple of energy blasts, and Tenchi blocked the attacks with the plasma sword again. Garlic Jr. then came running at Tenchi full speed, going for an attack which Tenchi was once again prepared to block or dodge. However, rather than charging with a fist, Garlic Jr. stopped, seeing Tenchi get into position. Tenchi finally swung his sword, but Garlic Jr. jumped, and avoided impact. In mid-air, he kicked the taller Tenchi in the face, but Tenchi came back with a swift kick to the little guy once Garlic Jr. came back on the ground. The kick caused him to roll backwards and stop flat on his stomach. Garlic Jr. quickly disregarded the impact and threw out several blasts at Tenchi, who managed to dodge each one. Barriers were established on each side at this point, so no bystander was hurt. Garlic Jr. then tried to hit a charged-up floating tornado double kick, but Tenchi carefully dodged it and, having him on the ropes, took advantage via the use of the Tenchi-ken sword on him. However, he didn't cut Garlic Jr. in half, for the dwarf managed to move behind Tenchi in a flash, then hit a floating dropkick from behind on him. Tenchi going down gave Garlic Jr. a small moment to catch his breath.

After Tenchi got back up, he abandoned the use of the sword and then went to attack Garlic Jr. with the use of his physical skill. Sure, using power moves and his material conversion ability worked more effectively, but he knew how to handle himself, and his battle suit ensured that. As he went after Garlic Jr., a disappointed audience had to watch Garlic Jr. dodge Tenchi's every attack. Consecutive punches were thrown, to no avail, as Garlic Jr. dodged every one. Pain echoed all over Vegeta's grimacing face especially as he watched in disgust. The child was not thinking, he was rushing his every attack! Finally, Garlic Jr. decided to end the fun by punching Tenchi straight in the gut, following which he finally attacked with a full-blown energy wave. However, it was at that point in time that Tenchi straightened up, and in order to protect himself, applied the use of the legendary shining wings of defense, the Lighthawk Wings. His form of the wings was a three-winged form, because of his being. Garlic Jr. looked on, and was slightly impressed by the display of Tenchi's defensive super ability.

"For a moment, I expected you to be dead," Garlic Jr. said, still on his game.

"I'm not exactly that easy to defeat, you know," Tenchi declared. "You look at me and you expect me to do nothing. That's when your opponent is the most dangerous." Following this statement, the Masaki child finally displayed some offensive ability, hitting a spinning kick, and a punch to the face on Garlic Jr., knocking him down and sliding him back a few feet. That was definitely impressive to Kagato, who knew nothing about Tenchi's being able to combat anyone without his sword. He was trained in arts of swordsmanship, not physical martial arts. Guess training in any art really is not exclusive to its specifics. Garlic Jr. did regain his footing in a mere matter of seconds now.

"Now, let's see what you can do," Garlic Jr. said, still confident that this was not as far as Tenchi could go. But why would he want more? Anyway, Tenchi got back to using his sword once again. Bad idea. After a couple of missed swings, the much speedier than before Garlic Jr. turned out to render Tenchi hopeless. He wasn't going to allow himself to get cut again. And when Tenchi looked over at his friends, he realized that he was missing something. Bad mistake, making a realization like that at this point in time, for that was the opportunity Garlic Jr. needed, in order to get a few punches and a knock back kick onto Tenchi. Garlic Jr. was then about to take advantage, but his shoulder block was sidestepped by Tenchi, who finally got a very good swing of the sword that struck Garlic Jr. However, despite the fact that the sword cut right through him, Garlic Jr. didn't fall into two pieces as expected. Instead, that slash merely assaulted the evil alien kid's spine.

_The Tenchi-ken sword is a very powerful item, and so is this child. Then again, I knew that before, when I was his victim. It was a good thing for all our sakes that I was able to create a chemical for slash-blocking effect,_ he thought as Garlic Jr. continued falling forward, exiting Kami's lookout via the side of the tower. Sword-wounded and all, however, Garlic Jr. did manage to regain his balance, and float calmly back over and down to the sanctuary's surface.

"I have to admit, little Tenchi, that I am very impressed," Garlic Jr. said, causing the good guys to sweat drop because he was calling someone else little.

"You're talking about little?" Tenchi couldn't help but ask, in a very loud voice.

"However, it's time I showed you… that I can be a lot more loose than this," Garlic Jr. finally disclosed to the good guys' utter shock, ignoring the cheap comeback by Tenchi, which Cell's bored expression told him was nowhere near anything that Vegeta could've said in this very same situation.

You've got to be kidding me, Tenchi panicked internally, following which Garlic Jr. let out a high pitched scream of energy, during which the ground did start to shake underneath them a little bit. At the end of the day, Garlic Jr. became taller, his skin darkened, and his hood and robe were shed. He did look strong and confident, and his black fighting pants did grow along with him, but… there was something about the transformation that Gohan noticed. _He looks a lot slimmer than before. He didn't suddenly hulk up this time._

"Whew, that felt good. It feels like I just got rid of my limitations. I didn't increase my power at all, just my ability to use it," Garlic Jr. explained confidently as he looked at Tenchi with a grin on his face. "Try and cut me again."

Tenchi at first gladly accepted, then remembered how many times he got burned like that training with Katsuhito and wisely thought better of it. But Garlic Jr., whose height was now somewhat comparable to Piccolo's, still managed to kick Tenchi in the side, and it really hurt, as well as knocked him down.

"Tenchi!" Sakuya screamed out, noticing that her boyfriend was in serious trouble. As Katsuhito looked on, worry began to etch on his face. Goku watched intently, hoping that Tenchi would find his opportunity, while Raditz was already starting to charge up his energy. Ryoko had to teleport to him and grab his wrist for him to turn around and notice her "don't even think about it" gaze. Amazingly, he backed off.

Meanwhile, Tenchi struggled a little bit to get up, but even though the pain of that kick stung, it didn't really keep him back all that much. Garlic Jr., however, was coming right at him, causing him to roll to the side to dodge another attack. Garlic Jr. followed up with a couple of energy blasts, which Tenchi was forced to dodge, as he hadn't regained enough of his control yet. Garlic Jr. kept on throwing blasts, but Tenchi kept on dodging. And now, with each dodge, the kid kept on coming closer and closer to Garlic Jr. Soon, he was close enough so that he got quite a significant amount of slashes in, but thanks to the slash-blocking chemical from Kagato, Garlic Jr. didn't fall into pieces, he just fell back. However, he didn't stay down for long, but instead got up and delivered Tenchi a crushing blow to the ribs. The confidence then began oozing through in the faces of Garlic Jr.'s teammates. Tenchi fell down and favored his ribs a lot due to the shock of the hit. Needless to say, Tenchi had already dropped the sword by now. With Tenchi down in a considerable amount of pain, his friends were very worried, and Garlic Jr. felt confident about this battle, grinning while standing over Tenchi as the future priest rolled back and forth between laying on his stomach and laying on his back. Garlic Jr. began to assume it was torture session time. He stepped on Tenchi's midsection as Tenchi was laying on his back, the hands still favoring the area and being hurt as well.

"Lord Tenchi!" Ayeka gasped, as Sakuya at this point became the lead member amongst those that could not bear to watch. Now, the laughing Garlic Jr. helped Tenchi up, only to kick him straight into the energy field barrier that was maintained by Eighteen on his friends' side. This also considerably weakened her control over it for one moment.

"I think this sounds horrible for you and your friends, you little punk Masaki, but once I transform into this more free-moving form, there is no way you can possibly sustain these efforts and ever hope to beat me," Garlic Jr. egotistically claimed, still grinning and standing tall over a grimacing Tenchi. At this point, it seemed as if he had no chance. Cell began to get irritated with the waiting and the torturing, as did the good guys, but for very different reasons. Garlic Jr. then crouched down, so that he could be at the kneeling and damaged Tenchi's level. He punched Tenchi right smack in the face, after which Tenchi went down. He was full of marks and injuries at this point, and it was a surprise he did not suffer any visible cuts. However, that assessment turned out to be incorrect, as there was indeed a cut visible on young master Masaki's cheek. Even Videl began to cringe watching this. It was so painful to see that she wanted to just stop it, but was perfectly powerless to: there was no way she could break through the barrier. Garlic Jr. picked up Tenchi and, in typical torturing fashion, repeatedly punched him in the gut. At this point, it could be best assumed that Tenchi had no chance. However, it was right at this point that a golden glowing ball suddenly became formed in Tenchi's right hand, which he managed to throw at Garlic Jr. The ball exploded in Garlic Jr.'s face, causing him to let go of Tenchi. Tenchi managed to regain some of his balance at this point, struggling with his injuries while down on one knee. Garlic Jr. was also given a good measure of pain from this blast. Angry about the impact of the ball, Garlic Jr. growled as Tenchi and Eighteen looked at each other with certain idea-filled smiles on their faces. Garlic Jr. then charged at Tenchi, trying to attack him. However, Tenchi sidestepped the ensuing lunge punch, and Eighteen increased the strength and range of the barrier, causing it to harm Garlic Jr. a somewhat considerable bit. But more important than that effect was that the shock of the force field stunned Garlic Jr. for a long enough time for the struggling Tenchi to finally retrieve his sword, which had been dropped somewhere across the ring. Once Sword Tenchi returned to its saber-like state, Lord Tenchi was finally able to pick himself up. Garlic Jr., once finally up, charged up a highly powerful energy wave in his right hand, which Tenchi blocked with the reactivation of the Lighthawk Wings ability. However, due to the injuries that Tenchi suffered prior to this, Garlic Jr. did end up gaining the upper hand against Tenchi's Wings, pushing them back a few inches. As the lookout was ensconced in the light of the scene, each of the two considerably different in-barrier crowds looking on and clearly pulling for one side or the other.

"Give it up, Tenchi! You can't beat me!" Garlic Jr. shouted at him with a beaming dark grin, followed up by his usual crazy laugh, still applying the pressure with his energy wave.

"No, don't give up!" Vegeta immediately commanded, hoping to the Kais that Tenchi wasn't weak enough to listen to someone like Garlic Jr.

"Tenchi!" Sakuya screamed out, still afraid to watch but at the same time so supportive of Tenchi it was impossible not to watch him fight this villainous imp. Also, seeing as how the eyes are the windows to the soul, one look in the eyes of Garlic Jr. and of all his teammates showed her… the difference between Yugi back in the day and the true meaning of evil. There was no denying she hated Garlic Jr. as much as she loved Tenchi at the moment.

"Make them pay for what they did to Yamcha and Krillin!" Gohan instantly reminded his new friend on the battlefield, hoping that Tenchi would get the message. Almost immediately right after that, a thought came to him which caused him to smack his forehead. Meanwhile, as Tenchi heard that and continued to concentrate on not fully giving in to Garlic Jr.'s wave, which could easily kill him if he was unprepared, something sparked within him.

_I never knew Gohan's friends, the ones he's talking about. But from the vibe I got when I realized they were killed, I could easily tell that they were really good people. Besides, Gohan helped me get used to the additions after Ryo-Ohki and Mihoshi's accidental space warp. His family and I are company now, so any friend of theirs is a friend of mine,_ he thought, still resisting the pain and Garlic Jr.'s pressure wave. _Besides, what if Nagi or Garlic Jr. had done that to someone connected to me? Like my dad, or my grandpa? Or if they attacked Ayeka, Ryoko, or… SAKUYA! She's on their list of targets right along with me! It hasn't happened yet, but it can still happen! Well, if I can do anything about this, I'm not gonna let it happen! Time to push with all I have left! I've gotta beat this guy!_

As the urge to protect his loved ones, especially his one love, fueled within Tenchi, he began to finally fight back. Soon, he was exerting more of his physical energy into the tug-of-war between Lighthawk Wings and hellish wave of energy, causing the Lighthawk Wings to be able to gain more of a push, forcing back Garlic Jr.'s wave.

"Oh, yeah? You really think you have a chance? I'll teach you that there's no such thing for you as a chance against me, you BRAAAAAAAAAT!" Garlic Jr. screamed out, stopping the Lighthawk Wings' momentum and even managing to regain some of that lost advantage. Strangely enough, back within Eighteen's barrier, Raditz actually grew a smirk on his face at this point. He had an idea.

"Hey! Garlic breath! Tenchi may not be a Saiyan, but at least he's of an honorable race, while you became the scum of your own Dead Zone!" Raditz yelled, taunting at Garlic Jr. The Prince of the Makyo Star heard this comment, and became almost incensed with making Raditz pay for it, giving Tenchi a little more edge room for a moment, until he remembered that his fight was with Tenchi Masaki.

"You got all your power from Mihoshi's dumb luck, while Tenchi gets his from caring about his people!" Ryoko shouted towards Garlic Jr. She saw what Raditz was doing and gladly went right along with it. She loved using her wits to irritate Ayeka, and here was an opportunity to put it to even better use. Meanwhile, Vegeta and Goku, along with their wives, slowly caught on to what Ryoko and Raditz were doing, and decided that they wanted to join in on the process.

"Ryoko speaks the truth, shrimp man! Kakarot and his family always beat you, and Tenchi will also, both for the exact same reason as she said, and because you're nothing but an Namek-looking insect rip-off!" Vegeta yelled. At this point, Garlic Jr. was feeling extremely disrespected, and again, it took all his memory to remember that he was fighting Tenchi and the Lighthawk Wings were catching up to him. Again, he stalled the momentum and recovered some of the lost space, but by now it was almost 50-50, though only slightly bent on Garlic Jr.'s side.

"I've known Goku a long time, and he's never been one to let his friends down at times like this! If Tenchi has shown me anything, it's that he is Goku's equivalent from the No Need part of this realm! And that makes him better than you!" Bulma shouted back, letting it all be known. The experience was becoming more and more infuriating for Garlic Jr. Chichi, however, actually had a better one.

"My son Gohan found what it took to make mincemeat out of Cell the same way he locked you back up in that Dead Zone vortex thingy, and the same way that Tenchi's gonna make mincemeat out of you! You insignificant little bug, I can beat the crap out of you right now!" the angry Queen of Tirades taunted once again. It was better in the way that it was more infuriating and actually original. Rather than promoting her husband as everyone else had done, she instead decided to put over her son as greater than Garlic Jr. Especially after sensing Gohan's currently weak softy power level, he refused to believe that he was inferior to Goku's eldest child.

"Garlic Jr.! You're so darn low the only way you could possibly win this struggle is if you turned it into a game of limbo! Just like I told Frieza when I turned Super Saiyan and defeated him; ally to good, nightmare to you!" Goku finally added to the mix; and this was something he did not often do. He just realized that this was a strategy which needed to be done, and might just be the distraction to Garlic Jr., and the motivation to Tenchi, that was needed in order to tilt the battle in Tenchi's favor. Garlic Jr.'s energy wave was still struggling with Tenchi's Lighthawk Wings, and the battle went on intensely from here. Garlic Jr. lost more and more ground with every reaction to every distracting shout. Now, he was beginning to get sick of it.

"Oh, yeah? You want me to care about my people? Well, guess what! I already do! The difference is, _I'm_ my people! And I'm not getting beaten by the No Need realm's meek BOOOOOOOOOYYYYYY!" Garlic Jr. furiously screamed out, letting a huge pulse of energy into his wave, giving him right back that very same advantage that he had against Tenchi in the first place. As Sakuya once again cringed and Cell grew his confident smile back on his face, amongst other reactions, something unexpected happened.

Filled by the confidence of his old and new friends' trust in him, as well as his will to protect them, Tenchi Masaki finally found the strength he needed to get the job done after all. With a furious scream which one would be surprised wasn't heard all the way from Mount Everest, Tenchi finally managed to push all the way, taking not only the space that Garlic Jr. just claimed on that last turn, but managing to push the Lighthawk Wings all the way into Garlic Jr., finally winning this little push war. Garlic Jr.'s entire wave was depleted, and he was knocked down with a hard collision thanks to the impact of these Lighthawk Wings. The tired out Tenchi soon panted, as he watched his enemy fall to the ground. After being done taking a few moments to catch his breath, Tenchi finally turned toward his friends within Eighteen's barrier.

"Ryoko, I'm gonna need the seven gems!" Tenchi called out to her. Right then, she knew exactly what he was talking about. The seven gems of Tenchi-ken would give it added power, enough to destroy pretty much anything in its path. She knew because she was almost destroyed by it at one time with those seven gems, during one of her first encounters with Tenchi. she had scared him drastically after arriving in a pink version of Kagato's battleship, which led to him having to use it on her. Following the family's establishment into the house, she separated the gems and gave one of them to each of the others, including herself, letting one of them stay with the sword, in case this would ever repeat itself. These days, Sakuya is the keeper of the seventh gem. But before anything could be done…

"I don't think so!" Cell shot, breaking up the energy field on his side and quickly clasping his palms together in position as he charged a blue spark of energy.

"Ka… me… ha… me… HAAAAAAAAAA!" he exclaimed, as the devastating Turtle Destruction Wave itself went straight towards Tenchi. He was at this point completely unprepared and unable to dodge the attack. Once the Kamehameha collided with him, an extreme surge of pain blared through him, and he screamed within it, powerless to sustain himself against it. However, as the effects cleared, much to the fortune of us all, the blast was not enough to kill him, just enough to severely injure him and pretty much knock him out of commission. Cell teleported over to Garlic Jr., then helped him back up to his feet. The battle-scarred Garlic Jr. followed Cell back to Kagato and Nagi, after which they all left via instant transmission, with Cell laughing after saying the word goodbye. The good guys were all left with a fallen Tenchi; something that a certain three people especially could not stand.

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Vegeta: "That was a disappointing performance!"

-Ayeka: "What are you talking about? He did everything he could have done! The garlic shrimp's teammates just happened to get in the way! Besides, what did you do but yell at Garlic Jr.?"

-Vegeta: "I would have blasted Garlic Jr. to smithereens, except your Lord Tenchi had to be the fool to tell me to back off!"

-Raditz: "Vegeta, pipe down! We did screw up, but in no way am I going to concede to this conduct, or to those scumbags, over this one defeat. Rather, there's only one thing left for us to do."

-Goku: "Good thinking, Raditz. Never thought I'd be proud to be your ally. Anyway, next on **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, it's time to prepare for war once again in **Chapter 9: Begin Training**."


	9. Begin Training

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Prime Legend Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: Guess last chapter really made up for the disappointing character errors from the other one. Though I still feel as though the fight was a bit short and didn't live up to anime standards (which may be just because I like to make it seem as real as possible), I'm actually quite proud of what I've done so far, especially chapter 8.

As for a certain issue (or non-issue) that Chrosis brought up about an "everyone other than Garlic Jr.": the "planet buster" (character able to ravage or destroy a planet with a single attack) concept. I'm guessing you might just be talking about most of the DBZ characters when you say this, Chrosis. However, some TM characters, including the bad guys, count in this concept as well. Cell obviously is one, and Kagato's track record as the Ruins Buster shows that he's got the ability to damage or destroy _Jurian ships_, let alone planets. Ryoko was used by Kagato to plunder planets easily, and my guess is that Nagi could be stronger than Ryoko, although I don't know what planet busting ability Nagi would have, unless something from inside Ken-Ohki counts. Anyway, the ultimate planet buster isn't in this story: that would be Ougon Oozaru Bebi Vegeta (also recognized as Super Bebi).

By the way, the Miami HEAT have officially become the NBA Champions of the World! HAHAHAHA!

Oh, and this is gonna be a long chapter by my standards.

**Chapter 9: Begin Training.**

Tears developed in the eyes of Sakuya, Ayeka, and Ryoko, as they looked at Tenchi and saw that he was down for the count. Despite the fact that anyone else could figure that he still was alive, the worry that was apparent in their eyes showed that their love for him was clearly clouding their judgment.

"Tenchi!" Sakuya finally let out as she ran to his side with the tears beginning to seep out from her eyes. Soon, you could find her on her knees, sobbing right next to him, hoping that he would hear her and wake up. Before she knew it, there was someone right next to her, looking over Tenchi for some reason.

"He won't be 100 anytime soon without any medical help, but he's breathing," the person said. Sakuya finally stopped sobbing and turned around to her right, and noticed that it was Raditz. Behind the two of them were a standing Ayeka and Ryoko, and the mere statement that Tenchi was breathing provoked undeniable signs of relief from all three of the girls. Suddenly, Dende came closer to the scene, causing it to divide somewhat.

"I have the power to heal him. Don't you worry about Tenchi. He fought hard to beat Garlic Jr. He should be proud," Dende said with a smile as he came down to place his hands on Tenchi's chest for the healing procedure. Whilst healing the young warrior, he continued with a reassuring statement towards the girls as far as Tenchi's true person. "Now I can see why you all love him so much. Don't worry. He'll be as good as new."

"Glad to be wrong," Raditz said as a smile came onto the faces of each of the girls. Remarkably, after looking at them, he smiled too. Although his smile was partly a smirk of confidence, and partly directed towards Ryoko. Soon, Dende was finished with the healing process, and all of Tenchi's marks and bruises were gone, replaced by the hero awakening to the usual horde of women tackling him about how happy they are to see that he's alive. Luckily for himself, Raditz barely managed to get out of the way without a mark.

_This is the pathetic part of living with these people,_ the formerly considered second-level Saiyan warrior thought as he smacked his own forehead, silently praying for this to end. Before Raditz knew it, his prayer was answered… by his royal highness! For Vegeta blasted the already weakened ground here at Kami's Tower and broke up the entire scene, scattering the girls across the sanctuary and leaving Tenchi in isolation. Finally, Vegeta extended a hand to help Tenchi up. Tenchi accepted the lift, only to find himself given an insulting backhand slap from the Prince of all Saiyans.

"I can't believe you would just throw up the fight!" Vegeta blatantly accused Tenchi. "You should be ashamed of yourself!"

"What are you talking about?" Tenchi asked almost defiantly as he turned back around towards this yelling authority.

"Why, I ought to be gob smacked in shame! What do you mean, what am I talking about? You have embarrassed your entire alien race! You're half Royal Jurian, and you fight for the ones you love, just like Kakarot!" Vegeta reminded him.

"Yeah, but what do that have to do with it?" Tenchi once again asked in that semi-demanding tone.

"You were supposed to win this fight! How could that light-wing attack not have finished him off?" Vegeta purposely wondered aloud to Tenchi's face in disgust. "That diminutive Garlic Jr. shrimp should have been dead by now!"

"Vegeta, stop it!" Goku instantly ordered, putting a strong hand on the smaller man's shoulder as a point of emphasis. Vegeta merely brushed the hand away with force, stunning Goku and everyone else.

"You're being soft again! This is disgusting! Tenchi did not put all of his energy into that Lighthawk Wing attack! If he did, Garlic Jr. wouldn't have stood a chance! Instead, he wanted a chance to win with his sword in seven gems!" Vegeta explained angrily, his strict and disappointed face causing Tenchi to quiver just a small bit. What Tenchi was seeing at this point in time was an arrogant prince who loved the art of fighting and hated to see it embarrassed at all in any way, shape, or form. This was not the ally that he thought he would see.

"This is ridiculous! How are you embarrassing yourself so badly in the middle of a colossal struggle between us, and some of the most miserable villainous has-beens we've ever faced in our lives? You should be ashamed of yourself!" continued the royal man with the major widow's peak. Meanwhile, Mr. Popo and Dende gaped at the condition of Kami's lookout. Some of the tiles had crumbled during the battle, the trees on each line of grass were basically all gone, blown away in a matter of seconds. Even the inside sanctuary walls became damaged somewhat by the battle between Garlic Jr. and Tenchi. The worst part was that as a result, there was no butterfly in sight. The once beautiful tower base from which they overlooked the planet was once again ruined, just as it had been in the past by Garlic Jr. and Super Buu afterwards. Meanwhile, Vegeta continued to berate Tenchi right in front of the eyes of the world, something that Ayeka definitely was not going to take standing. Ryoko and Sakuya hated it just as much, but on this occasion, it was the First Princess of Jurai that actually stepped up to the plate on this.

"And therefore, your little sword is one of the most futile weapons I've ever seen! If it can't cut someone like Garlic Jr. to pieces, then it doesn't deserve any kind of attention!" he yelled, oblivious to the fact that not only was Ayeka approaching with fury in her eyes, but Piccolo was hovering above him, looking down in that tone which basically said, "You can shut up now, I've got something important to say. Bulma, however, noticed this, and tapped her husband on the shoulder, then pointed with one hand to Ayeka and the other to Piccolo.

"Vegeta, I'm actually kind of suspicious about the cutting thing. I could sense a good part of Tenchi's power was connected to that sword, so I don't understand why it didn't slice Garlic Jr. into a million pieces," Piccolo finally explained. Seeing Vegeta step aside for Piccolo to come forth, Ayeka began to calm down just a little bit, and chose, instead of storming towards Vegeta, to listen in on this.

"Go on, Tenchi. Try and cut me," Piccolo instructed, surprising Tenchi just a slight bit. He just realized that Tenchi obviously didn't know about his regeneration skill. "I have the ability to regenerate any missing or torn limbs. I'm not going to be dead if this works. Now go for it!"

Tenchi looked at Piccolo, seriously wondering if the green guy had a death wish. But seeing Piccolo's stern gaze become even sterner, Tenchi finally gave in to Piccolo's demands, reactivated the saber to Sword Tenchi-ken and slashed at Piccolo with it. To Piccolo and Vegeta's surprise, not to mention Tenchi's, the Namek was cut in half, and fell in two pieces. Within a few seconds, however, the top half of Piccolo began the somewhat disgusting-looking process of regenerating his waist and legs. Once he finally did so after several seconds, the broken former part disappeared.

"Wait a minute… it worked. That weakling sword actually cut someone," Vegeta noticed, in complete marvel at the fact. He did not finish this thought long before seeing that the 12-year-old looking Washu, in all her universal glory, finally approached this main scene. Apparently, she had something very important to say.

"Their bone structures have somehow adapted to keep from being fazed by anything that cuts or severs parts. Most likely by a chemical of some kind," Washu quickly deduced, certain that she was correct. "I can easily work on something like that myself."

"Wait a minute. How do you know that? Are you some kind of super genius or something?" Bulma questioned.

"Actually, I think I can say that I am," Washu answered confidently as Bulma looked at her quite confusedly. "I'm Washu Hakubi, the most incredible and beautiful scientific genius in the universe!" Following those comments came her usual hysterical proud laughter, something which Bulma did not appreciate. _How could this red-haired kid from another realm be claiming to be not only smarter, but more beautiful, than me? This is unacceptable! I'm the wife of a Saiyan prince and king! And I know that counts for something!_

"Well, excuse me, little Washu, but I'm the greatest and most beautiful scientist in the universe, not you!" Bulma screamed in a torrent of anger, finally stopping the laughter from Washu.

"No, I am!" Washu screamed back.

"No, I am!"

"No, I am!"

This constant "no I am" argument between arguably two of the most brilliant and beautiful people of all time was really starting to become pointless. As much as Vegeta and Piccolo before them were starting to get really ticked by it, it was neither of them that put a stop to it.

"Shut up!" Raditz and Ryoko both shouted at the same time at the top of their lungs, though not from the same exact part of the area. This succeeded in stopping the argument between Bulma and Washu, as the two women went from screaming at one another to standing perfectly still. Seeing this, Raditz and Ryoko looked at each other and actually exchanged smirks, while a peculiar thought entered each one's head: _Seems like we're actually beginning to think the same, for some odd reason._

"Okay, we're going to have to settle this quickly. I don't think everyone here has all day," Piccolo gruffly said, attempting to rush the scene between Bulma and Washu in case it would start up again. An idea struck Bulma's mind all of a sudden.

"I got it!" she burst, a smile of the same words' worth coming onto her face. "How about we all take a vote on who's the smartest one here?" Bulma was disappointed to find out that most people didn't want to do with it. Only Vegeta and Tenchi, who was in fact just standing there asking himself internally what he just got into, did not openly refuse to get involved in this little argument, and therefore got stuck in the art of deciding its conclusion.

"Well, since it's only you two who are gonna help us out," Washu started, "why don't you two tell us who's the greatest and most beautiful scientist in the universe?"

"Obviously, I'm going for Bulma," Vegeta instantly answered with his eyes closed in a serene smirk. "I've known her much longer than I've known you, so I know what she's capable of, while your guess about bone structures might have just been pure luck. Besides, she's my wife, and I love her. I would much quicker be partial to her than you." As Washu's frustration built up because of that, Bulma got closer to Vegeta, allowing his arm to encircle her waist as emphasis.

"What? That's not fair!" Washu complained in reply, before Vegeta put a finger to her mouth to shut her up, then continued on with his logic.

"If you're really as smart as you say you are, you would have probably figured out that I would be partial to Bulma and taken every precaution necessary to ensure that I wasn't in this," he explained. His logic was perfect, which irritated Washu quite a bit, though she was forced to suppress it by the superiority of Vegeta's tactfulness. "Yet you remained completely oblivious to the fact, and when I finally made the statement you should have seen coming a million years ago, you turn around and complain with a typical "That's not fair!" as if this was an evil promoter making some shocking decision to your disadvantage in a wrestling fight."

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess I have to agree with you…" Tenchi started to say while scratching his head to try and completely make sense of it.

"WHAT?" Washu screamed in his face, thinking it inconceivable that Tenchi would actually agree with Vegeta. "Don't you know how much of a genius I am? And not only that, I've gone on record to say that if I ever bore another child it would be with you! Doesn't that amount to anything?"

"Actually, my real reason for voting for Bulma is that… well, from what I understand, she's a smart girl herself, and she does it as a normal human being to boot. Not to mention the fact that she doesn't take people and experiment on them for her own ego's gain," Tenchi managed to speak, following which he was scratching the back of his head and giving that innocent boyish grin of his again. The way Washu looked at him in reply, you could tell that she was seriously annoyed by what Tenchi was saying. Sakuya by now was right next to Tenchi, and just about the only thing keeping Washu from hitting him right in the face that very instant. Vegeta was also vexed by Tenchi's words, but definitely not because of what he said. It was because of how he said it. The boy sounded like he was actually afraid of speaking his mind.

"Spineless! You've got to be kidding!" Vegeta complained in usual exclamatory fashion. "This is exactly why you lost the fight!" It was at that instant, that he felt a seriously scathing slap from Ayeka, the Princess of Jurai. Once he finally looked at her, he could see in Ayeka's red eyes that she was angrier than usual. He had seen at least one argument between Ayeka and Ryoko in the past, and she looked nowhere near this mad when that happened.

"Are you so incensed with the fact that Lord Tenchi lost that you fail to realize the truth?" she asked, her voice soft but solid, which reflected the possibility of a serious outburst being the rest of this. "Are you that dense within the facts? We're the ones who failed this battle, not Lord Tenchi! He fought as hard as he possibly could, Vegeta! He almost had that Garlic dwarf destroyed! All he needed was a power boost from us, but instead, we were too late! Cell's interference came before we even had a chance to make our imprint! We were just too slow!"

"Damnit, he held back!" Vegeta exclaimed in his own defense, getting into a shouting match with Ayeka now. "If he wasn't such an insignificant spineless teenager, then explain to me why a motivational push was not enough to at least knock out Garlic Jr., let alone kill him!"

"Will you guys shut up?" Ryoko suddenly shouted, causing time to stand still at Kami's Lookout once again. Yet another argument just had to be broken, and shockingly enough, she who loved banter and arguments was the one who did it. Adding to the surprise was the fact that Ryoko was breaking up something with Ayeka, the one person who she enjoyed seeing get annoyed like this. One's guess is she was really tired of hearing the battle between Ayeka and Vegeta because it involved him being disrespected with his only defense being the "royal ham bag". Raditz looked at the scene and was actually quite impressed… until he just thought up his own addition to the situation.

"Look. I know for a fact that Tenchi screwed up in the battle. I saw him. He did not exert as much as possible, either in executing the Lighthawk attack, or in striking afterwards," Raditz began. Some of the ones that were partial towards Tenchi, including the girls, started to look at him negatively with this statement, while Vegeta smirked because someone was agreeing with him. "However, part of that is to be attributed to us as well. He asked us to break the barrier to get him these seven gems, but the girls, who apparently have them, just stood there realizing what he was talking about. Eighteen didn't break the barrier, and nobody did anything. Meanwhile, before any of us even actually moved, Cell already had broken his barrier and was attacking with that Kamehameha. The interference was as sloppy as Tenchi's endgame decision making. That's why he lost the fight."

"So, what exactly are we, uh… gonna do about it?" a tentative Hercule managed to ask, buried deep within the crowd.

"Easy. We all train and get better. Those of us that can fight, that is. (Hercule crashes to the floor in disbelief) That way, we can all be prepared for next time this comes," Raditz replied matter-of-factly. "But before anything, the best idea for us now would be to go home and get ourselves settled down just a slight bit."

"Sounds good to me. I could use a refresher after this," the relieved Gohan admitted, much to the ire of Vegeta.

"No, you could use a refresher after some hard training, now get back into the Room of Spirit and Time!" Vegeta shot, pointing towards the inside walls of the sanctuary, where the entrance laid to the room. Those from the Dragon Ball part of this realm pretty much knew about the room. Gohan had been in there before: it was where he basically developed the power that he needed to beat Cell, as well as pushed his father around to help him a little bit. Funny how things changed between now and then. These days, Gohan wouldn't even bother to train unless an urgent situation came about or someone like Piccolo forced him to. Heck, even his Mystic power-up, which took him far beyond the limits of Super Saiyan, was mostly gone at this point. Deep down, some of them blamed Chichi for it, but people like that are needed in this life, certainly a lot more than the villains that Goku and Gohan have stopped in their day.

"Kibitoshin, can you get the Old Kai here? I'm gonna need him to reawaken my Mystic power," Gohan suggested. A bright smile then came on the fused Supreme Kai's face.

"Sure!" he exclaimed, realizing the potential that this would pose. He then teleported out of the area. Meanwhile, Chichi and Videl were on the verge of throwing up a storm of fury. You can already guess which one scored first.

"What makes you think I'm gonna allow my own son to be going into that room ever again?" Chichi yelled, the frustration being as evident as ever in her voice. "He's growing up with an education! He's gonna be a scholar! The closest he's getting to fighting alongside you is if he works in Capsule Corp as Bulma's assistant!"

"Wake up already, you foolish woman! Don't you realize that this whole scenario transcends far beyond what you want for Kakarot and Gohan, or even what they want for themselves?" Vegeta shot back at her. He didn't pay enough attention to faces, however, to realize that Videl was against him too.

"Oh, yeah? Help me out here, Vegeta!" challenged the young daughter of Mr. Satan. "How does it transcend what we want when what we want is to not see Gohan gobbled up by another disgusting excuse for a living being like that ever again?"

"Easy!" Vegeta dared to answer, stopping her right in her tracks. Unlike Garlic Jr. when receiving the Saiyan's taunts, he did not lose his composure whilst winning this argument. "Well, for one, I think you need to finally be taught something. Every time we have a bad guy arrive on the scene to claim supremacy over us all, we need to train Gohan and have him help us on the battlefield. This is mainly supported by the fact that every major threat to our realm of the universe since any of our lifetimes has been either ravaged or eradicated by who? Gohan or Kakarot! Without them, we're gone! And that includes when Raditz, Nappa, and I arrived as bad guys. (turns to Chichi) As for you, I heard that you questioned Kakarot having Gohan fight Cell because it wasn't going to get him into a decent school or earn him a good job. Well, the fact is, if he hadn't fought Cell, there wouldn't be a decent school! There wouldn't be a good job! There wouldn't be a you, a Kakarot, a me, or most importantly in this topic, there wouldn't be a single Gohan to go around! All that would remain in the end is Cell! Do you ever bother to think about that instead of your single-minded obsession with your child becoming an Einstein?"

"Okay, okay! I think they got your point already, Vegeta! Stop it!" Goku immediately cut in there, noticing that Videl and Chichi were looking a little scared at this point with the realization of what Vegeta was saying, as well as the fact that without that cut-in, Vegeta probably wouldn't have stopped. Raditz watched the scene in plain disgust, with one thought in his mind:

_And here I thought the Masaki house was insane. Uh! Speaking of which…_

"Don't we all have to get back home right now? Except for Gohan and Tenchi?"

The sound of Tenchi's name being involved in the statement… when did anyone say Tenchi was going to the chamber?

"Obviously, his Jurian power, and his physical strength, need some kind of working enhancement if he's to beat any of those scumbags. I don't know how much good it would do, but I do know that he would definitely benefit from it some way or another," Raditz explained.

"You are trying desperately to crack a joke, right? You have received no permission from me, the First Crowned Princess of Jurai, to be able to take Lord Tenchi into an unknown dangerous situation!" Ayeka screamed angrily.

"Well, how do you think I feel about it? I'm the one who's with him!" Sakuya exclaimed as she quickly turned towards her, equally distraught over the matter of fact.

"What the heck are you thinking, Raditz? I'm not gonna let Tenchi get stuck in something like that, no matter who says so!" Ryoko shot. Meanwhile, Vegeta was ready to take command once again.

"Quiet! Raditz might actually have a good idea! Tenchi needs to train in order to become strong enough to destroy at least Garlic Jr.!" he explained, once again throwing Tenchi's defeat in everyone's face. "Now, before you start questioning why send people into a mysterious room, the Room of Spirit and Time, also known as the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, is a room where gravity is heightened, and time is boosted. There's mightily enough food in there, the entrance leads to the only one actual room in the entire otherwise empty space, and time is amplified so that a year takes a day. A year of training may be accomplished in one single day! That is how Gohan was able to defeat Cell!"

"Well, in that case, I'm going in with Gohan," Tenchi finally spoke up, which once again made the others take notice of his word. "What can I say? Vegeta's right. I do need to get better."

"Tenchi, you're not going in! I don't know what'll happen to you in there, and I don't want you to get hurt!" Sakuya declared, brushing up against his chest, sobbing desperately with tears in her eyes for fear of her man getting into unnecessary danger.

"Hey, Sakuya!" Goku called to her with a smile on his face. She stopped sobbing and turned around to face him, although the position and the flow of tears would not halt just yet. "He'll be okay. Better yet, I think he'll be better than ever."

"Are… are you sure…"

"Yes," he reassured, seeing some of the brightness return into her face. "I've trained with my son in the Chamber myself. I think he and Tenchi will be perfect to push each other to become the best that they can possibly become in this time. Even the meek boy in him will start to disappear for awhile."

"From the sounds of it, this will make him more prepared for becoming a Shinto priest," Katsuhito surfaced after clearing his throat.

"Or for accomplishing any challenge that ever comes his way," Goku seconded the fact as he turned towards the other human alien with the two different names. "Trust me. He'll make you proud."

"I'm not quite sure about this possibility, but this can serve to finally stop the embarrassing, pointless, going-nowhere three-woman conflict in the house relating to Tenchi, correct?" Raditz asked, much to the shock of Ayeka and Ryoko, with Sakuya looking happy and relieved about the chances.

"Anything can happen, Raditz. Just like you being here on our side, anything can happen," Goku answered with a smirk coming on his face. He was starting to read Raditz, know what he was thinking, even figuring out a latent reason for Raditz asking that question other than what the last Saiyan left using a scouter would admit to himself. Raditz wasn't the most avid fan of this, but somehow he could tell he was close to his brother. And so, he smirked back.

"A secretive smile between brothers. Never thought I would see it coming from you," Vegeta said, directed at Raditz.

"Shut up. It's between brothers, not trash," Raditz countered wittily as the three of them enjoyed a small laugh at that. Finally, they became serious and all turned towards the young boys who were about to become champions. Gohan and Tenchi returned the serious gazes from those three and Katsuhito, then nodded confidently, before Gohan finally led Tenchi in the direction of the room. Suddenly, Videl came to Sakuya, tapped her on the shoulder, and immediately turned towards Gohan and Tenchi with a smile on her face.

"Hey, Gohan!" Videl called to him, stopping the two in their tracks before she continued. "You two better come back strong so we can beat these guys, alright?" To her glee, Sakuya caught on and smiled at them as well.

"Sure. We'll do it," Gohan promised, after which the two of them walked on. Confidence swelled at this point in regard to the two youngsters that were about to instantaneously become a year older… and better.

Finally, a short hour later, everyone was back in their homes, filled with so many emotions it almost instantly got confusing. But even so, they all kept on with somewhat normal routines.

At Capsule Corp, Bulma was busy as usual, with business affairs, making capsules, cooking for Vegeta and Trunks - who were out training - and gathering materials the group may or may not need, such as the Dragon Radar. At Roshi's island, the time was spent between mourning and babysitting Marron, which will be explained soon. At Mount Paoz, Goku and Goten tried to relax but found themselves frankly unable to do so, as did Chichi. It was impossible to not be worried at least internally at a time like this. Through the entire worry, they still managed to have a nice meal, a good amount of family time together in the woods, and even a little sparring practice between _all three_ of them.

One change, however, was Eighteen opting to stay with the Masaki clan at least until Tenchi returned. She wanted as much information as possible on Nagi, and she saw more of a life as far as training and moral support being possible through them at the moment.

In other Masaki clan news, Kiyone and Mihoshi reported to GP headquarters on the situation and asked them not to step in and endanger themselves in any manner at the moment, while Ayeka sat there on the couch in the main hall downstairs, not even turning on the TV to watch a soap opera, choosing to think about certain things for awhile instead. Sasami started cooking another rich Japanese rice dish for everyone, Yugi and Sakuya serving as her faithful assistants. Yugi, however, did most of the assisting, for Sakuya's mind was occupied with hoping that Tenchi was okay. Katsuhito retreated to his high shrine once again, worried somewhat about Tenchi but ultimately confident in his abilities. The bad part of it was that he had no one to train with today, and for today, no one to do any farm work in the fields. Washu did more of her work as a scientist.

As for a certain three people, them being Raditz, Eighteen, and Ryoko, the trio felt like just chilling out, and the "multidimensional" onsen was not ready at the moment, so the group went up to Lake Funaho, which was in a higher part of this mountain area from the Masaki house, and was actually a bit far north from there. The three sat at the edge of the lake, not caring much about getting their feet, legs, or outfits wet, for they were about to engage in a serious discussion. Well, at least two of them for the most part.

"You seem to be coping quite well with your husband's death," Ryoko noted to Eighteen, who immediately turned away to wipe a tear after this.

"I'm only holding strong because he would want me to. Surely you must realize that," the cyborg replied, struggling between the words and another outbreak of tears. Ryoko was taken aback by this tone of voice; she was known for overstepping boundaries sometimes, but this quickly in a situation like this?

"I know how you feel, and I know it all too well," the space pirate finally uttered, which came to Raditz as a surprise somewhat, though he hid his own face of surprise really well this time. "When I thought Tenchi was dead… that Kagato truly had finished him… I wanted to kill Kagato, even if it killed me."

"Speaking of boyfriend and husband killers, what can I know about Nagi that you haven't already told me?" Eighteen finally asked, causing Ryoko to turn to her and shift gears a little to spill the details.

"Well, for starters, and I don't know if I've already told you this, but I can't tell it enough times, Nagi can be an incessant, all-purpose pest. She's wanted to kill me for a long time just because I was the only quarry that ever got past her," Ryoko began to explain. "She doesn't have any powers, but she's super strong. Despite the powerful shots that could be made out of a Ken-Ohki vs. Ryo-Ohki battle of the ships, she's an extraordinarily skilled fighter, and she's good with her weapons."

"Which are…"

"A hell of a tight laser whip and a power strike sword," Ryoko finished following Eighteen's cut-in. Standing up and walking away, the cyan-haired beauty finally suggested an idea. "So I think we're gonna have to get ready really quick. You and me are getting into the woods."

"I believe you're abandoning someone here," Raditz complained as Eighteen got up and joined Ryoko.

"You're right. We're not the only ones who need to get stronger. And you're the one who suggested every one of us train in the first place. So unless you're scared of getting beaten by two really determined girls, you might want to join in," Eighteen invited the Saiyan soldier, though the "scared" comment by which she did so really flattened his pride for a small second there. He angrily leapt up onto his feet and followed the two into the forests where training battles usually took place between Tenchi and Katsuhito.

"You know, we're actually quite lucky that Yosho over there isn't here at this point. He only trains with Tenchi, really, but it's actually a blessing in disguise. That way, we don't have to deal with his idea of training; bokken practice," Ryoko noted as the three were still walking around and trying to find a perfect spot.

"Well, if he were to do that to us, I would be quick to explain something to him, in four short words," Raditz instantly took the time to retort.

"Let me guess: Saiyans aren't armored pushovers?" an instantly bored Eighteen asked.

"I, don't, do, weapons," Raditz replied in his irritated voice.

Elsewhere, underneath a flourishing tree at the lavender-skied Planet of the Kais, Rou Dai Kaioshin (the Old Supreme Kai) was reading entertaining comic books as usual, seeing as how nothing eventful was happening on earth at this specific point in time, before he was met by Kibitoshin.

"Venerable elder, I think you're needed at the Hyperbolic Time Chamber," Kibitoshin informed his elder counterpart, which in turn shook him out of his boots.

"Don't you see I'm in the middle of some very important reading?" the Old Kai chastised the fused Supreme, getting in his face as soon as he stood up.

"Why, yes, sir, but there's some more important reawakening of power to do. Son Gohan and Tenchi Masaki are both in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber for training, and one of the important pieces to this training dictates that you go back there and do the Mystic power awakening process once again."

"What?" the chomping-at-the-bit Old Kai exclaimed, still jumpy as ever. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to do that process last time? I'm not wasting eighteen hours of my day to do that again just because Gohan wasted it all on pretty girls and parties! Even though I'd like to waste my time that way… but that's another story!"

"One: yes, you are. Two: it's only eighteen hours in Hyperbolic Time Chamber standards. Which, by the way, amplifies time well enough so that eighteen hours in there is really less than three minutes. I thought Goku and I already gave you details on that during the fight with Buu. Combine that with the fact that you're helping two people, and that means only six minutes. Three: if you didn't, I believe the universe would be in some serious trouble."

"Hmm…" the Old Kai sounded in consideration, entering a thinking pose with his hand underneath his chin. "Now that you think about it, you do pose a good point…"

"A good point?" Kibitoshin shot up in the Old Kai's face, scaring him out of himself temporarily. "I said the universe would be in some serious trouble! And I didn't mean "grounded", I meant in jeopardy of being destroyed by Cell and his new evil band of brothers!"

"Alright, alright! Fine! I'll do it!" the Old Kai yelled in defeat. "It's not like I want the universe to be destroyed! I just want some peace! Humph!"

As the Old Kai folded his arms and turned away from his descendant, Kibitoshin put a hand on the elder's shoulder and put his own index and middle fingers on the other hand up in front of himself. After about five seconds, they vanished… and reappeared right in front of the entrance door to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

"Well, we're here," Kibitoshin said, prompting the Old Kai to turn around and see the door before him.

Inside the chamber, there was already a training battle going on between Gohan and Tenchi. Tenchi was trying to hit Gohan without the use of his sword or any of his special abilities, but failed to get in one hit, for Gohan was able to back away each time.

"GO-HAN!" a certain old man's voice called, stopping the two in their tracks as they looked back towards the entrance/bedroom area of the chamber. After a few minutes, they saw the old pointy-eared purple man in the white Mohawk hairstyle, whose outfit, mostly made up of several shades of blue, was one that suggested he was some kind of omnipotent wise being that was not from this earth.

"Who is this guy?" a confused Tenchi barely managed to ask.

"That's the Elder Supreme Kai," Gohan quickly explained. "There was a sword I once used to train, that broke in half during an exercise I did with my dad back when we were fighting Majin Buu as a bad guy. I got really strong from using the sword, but after it broke, this guy showed up. It turns out, this guy is Shin… from fifteen generations ago."

Meanwhile, inside an isolated wooden cabin-like shed in a field, that has nothing to do with any locations we know of except for the fact that it is on earth, the Madri Scholar found himself drinking a bowl of soup from a strange figure who wore a brown hooded robe over his face, body and outfit so as to hide his identity. The figure had bed sheets and a pillow of his own, ready in case he felt tired and needed to go to sleep.

"How'd it go?" the hooded figure asked.

"Garlic Jr. defeated Tenchi at the Lookout with assistance from Cell," the Madri Scholar replied, his tone clearly telling that he was not proud to admit such a defeat could befall the future priest of the shrine at Okayama. "However, he and Gohan… did go into training at the Room of Spirit and Time. They'll be finished tomorrow afternoon, and presumably much stronger. At least, I know Gohan will be."

"You mean that room where Vegeta got all that power by which he could have crushed Cell before being persuaded to let him absorb Eighteen?" the person asked, knowing quite a large piece of history about that specific period of time.

"Yes," the Scholar confirmed, his voice ultimately serene and focused, as is usually the case unless he's getting confronted with stalking accusations or a serious mistake for the earth.

"Well, in that case, Garlic Jr. better not accept a rematch if he knows what's good for him. But, knowing the chumps that really bad guys can be, he doesn't," the new mystery person replied with a chuckle, before finally deciding to ask him a question. "What about the planned pair you told me about?"

"They are getting closer, but I don't see any sparks as of yet," the Scholar replied. "However, you'd have to be a fool not to notice a shift of hearts."

"Good. That way, I'm not the only man resurfacing on the other side," the cloaked figure stated. "That is, when I decide to resurface. In the meantime, thanks for keeping to yourself my secret of existence. I want to make a surprise appearance, when none of them can see anything coming. That way, I can be the most effective."

"I've done my best to honor it so far. I think it's time I went back to work," the Madri Scholar stated as he went to walk out of the lonely shed.

"Hey, wait!" the figure sharply instructed, taking the Madri Scholar into a screeching halt. "I just want to know one thing: why is it that you do what you do?"

"What about?" the Madri Scholar asked, turning to the mysterious figure.

"Everything you've done so far during this situation, including devising your plan to fuse the realms in the first place, and befriending me, and even keeping my secret," the hooded figure explained clearly.

"I told you. I'm the all-seeing eye of the universe. And it's my responsibility to do all that I can to aid those who will defend the good of the universe," the Madri Scholar explained, opening the door ahead of him and closing it behind him to exit the shed. As he left, the smiling hooded figure enjoyed the art of putting a smile on his face.

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Goten: "Oh no, look! It's that Cell guy!"

-Cell: "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Goten! How happy I am to see you. It will make for a good-bearing result once I finally kill you."

-Goku: "Cell! What are you doing here?"

-Cell: "I came to destroy you and your entire family."

-Goku: "Well, you're not laying a hand on Goten, you monster! Keep away from my son!"

-Gohan: "Cell, if you want my little brother, you'll have to go through me!"

-Cell: "Actually, I want to go through each and every one of you, including your annoying mother and your girlfriend, Gohan. Next chapter on **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, I begin via **Chapter 10: The Son Family Under Attack**."


	10. The Son Family Under Attack

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Prime Legend Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: I love a good mystery. Or, at least the good mystery that I've introduced to you all so far. Who do you think is the person in the brown hooded robe that the Madri Scholar was talking to in that shed? Take a very good guess, and I will not tell you. Take a very bad guess, and I will not tell you. Take a guess not too good and not too bad, and I will not tell you. I will not tell you until he shows himself. But maybe this was pointless to state. What is not pointless to state, however, is that I'm glad I can post again.

**Chapter 10: The Son Family Under Attack.**

At the Masaki house, things went as one would think they had: Raditz, Eighteen, and Ryoko continued to search for a proper training spot in the woods, when suddenly, Ryoko had an idea.

"Hey! Why don't we have a little bit of a, um… preciseness exercise?" she suggested.

"It's _precision_," Raditz corrected immediately, beginning to get a little ticked at this point.

"Yeah, whatever," Ryoko shrugged it off, not caring all that much for the true word. Raditz did get slightly ticked off, but brushed it into the rear of his mental corridors. "Anyway, how about a three-way battle where our objective is to avoid getting hit into a tree or hitting down a tree? This little game of ours can be very helpful when it comes to keeping yourself in check and stuff like that."

"I could use a bit of a competitive stress release," Eighteen said in acceptance of this plan.

"Sure, why not? It's better than doing nothing," Raditz added to the list of reasons for doing this. At this point in time, they were not going to look for another spot. They found themselves in an area where there were many trees around them, but none within their field of space. It was a little close to the shrine, which meant Katsuhito would obviously hear it, but that was a moot point, for it was not time to worry about when he would arrive with his bokken.

Once the three were set up in a triangle position, they focused themselves on one thing and one thing only, and that was winning this strange battle between the three of them. Each of them looked back and forth between their two opponents, waiting for an opportunity to pounce on them. You had to be something scary as far as patience and cunning to actually win in this competition.

Raditz was the first to start losing his temper, as an angry growl developed on his face, and he finally made steps towards Eighteen. She looked at him and prepared to fire ki blasts when Ryoko teleported and leapt onto Raditz from behind. She expected him to start losing his balance, going crazy, and blasting all over the place, knocking down several trees and eliminating himself. However, he would smile, having her playing right into his hands, and used said hands to give a hard tap to her assets. Being that she never gave him permission and that it wasn't Tenchi, she immediately got ticked, got off him, and went for a spinning kick to his head from behind. However, he saw it coming and ducked it, following which he hit an energy blast on her, knocking the cyan-haired space pirate almost into a tree that was a good fifteen yards behind her before the blast. However, she managed to somehow teleport herself away from the blast, which hit and destroyed the tree anyway, so Raditz was out. Eighteen took advantage and used her energy field barrier to knock Ryoko back into another tree. The crafty space pirate managed to recollect her balance long enough to use her legs and kick off the tree, not knocking it down, flying back in the direction of the girl in Dr. Gero's former "Red Ribbon android family". Eighteen, though, managed to sidestep Ryoko's charging punch, then boot her into a tree. Eighteen won the challenge.

"Heh heh heh. I won," Eighteen softly bragged, a small smile coming on her face at the thought as Ryoko got back up from underneath the tree that she got crushed by. Raditz took a step closer to Eighteen, Ryoko still getting up, before a certain figure clearing his throat was heard.

"Interesting training challenge you all have devised. May I partake in it as well?" the voice of Katsuhito could be heard asking, as he was seen just coming out from behind a row of trees.

"As long as we don't have to use your bokkens or get squashed, perfect," Ryoko accepted, proud and glad under the conditions she just described. "Especially since I could use a victory over you since you put me in that cave 700 years ago."

The rest of the day for the Masaki clan basically went this way: the precision and patience training challenge continued between the four of them, and Katsuhito this time won most of them easily, until Raditz began to focus his Saiyan energy better. He managed to squeeze in three straight victories before time was up, after which Katsuhito's three training victims left him at the shrine, opting to go back down to the house and relax instead. The others just kept on doing what they usually do, including Sasami's two "assistants", until dinner time. Whilst at the table being treated to yet another excellent ensemble of Japanese rice dish, Ayeka had to be consoled due to worrying about Tenchi. Fortunately for Ms. Proper and Prim herself, Sakuya shared the worry, but had equal confidence (thanks in part to Goku), which she managed to share with the princess who most of the time would want nothing to do with her. Mihoshi almost broke the computer in hers and Kiyone's room afterwards, which Yugi had to be there to keep her from inadvertently doing. Finally, hell unleashed itself.

Going back in time again, except a few hours later during the sunset's time, we visit the home at Capsule Corporation. Vegeta and Trunks were done training, and Bulma had done her share of preparing meals and such for a certain couple of Super Saiyans. Currently, they were all eating spaghetti with steak and steak sauce… or should I say, one of them was. Bulma had to cook for eight, though, rather than two, because Saiyan appetites run too great. Vegeta had five dishes in front of him, Trunks two, and Bulma one. And still, she managed to be out-sped in the eating department by her man and their little man. Needless to say, they were thinking while waiting for her to finish, during which they started a conversation.

"I noticed someone," Bulma began after swallowing another forkful of spaghetti, whilst gathering more with her fork and knife so that she could take it in. "Someone cute."

"Who are you talking about?" Vegeta demanded at the very sound of what she said, fearing perhaps that she was getting interested in another man or something.

"Relax, Vegeta. I don't mean someone cute for me," she said, before taking in and eventually swallowing the spaghetti she'd just gathered in her fork. "I mean someone cute for Trunks." Upon hearing this, both Vegeta and Trunks crashed to the floor in disbelief.

"Mom!" Trunks called in complaining unbelief of what she just said, knowing perfectly who she was referring to. "First Gohan and that Madri Scholar guy, now you? How many people are gonna keep on trying to set me up with Sasami?"

"Speaking of Gohan, I wonder how he's doing with his training," Bulma quickly changed the subject, perfectly ignoring the grumbles of her son.

"Bah. I'm sure he and Tenchi are in there, slacking off and talking about girls," Vegeta arrogantly predicted, a look of frustration etched on his face at the thought.

"Wait, after he just got beat big time by Garlic Jr.?" Trunks asked, knowing full well that it was so embarrassing to lose to someone that Gohan had destroyed (according to the falsified information they occasionally (but not always) assumed due to never having met Garlic Jr., he was destroyed rather than banished to the Dead Zone) as a non-Super Saiyan kid, that if Gohan and Tenchi spent their training time talking about girls, it would be absolutely amazing and at the same time stupefying to watch.

"Would you stop reminding me about that? It was _painful to watch_!" Vegeta commanded with the same feelings of utter disgrace about that loss poking at the part of his heart that obtained his perpetually undying (but not unchanging) Saiyan pride. It was at that exact moment in time that something occurred to him, and he smilingly gasped.

"What is it?" his son and wife asked him simultaneously, poking their heads closer to the man of the house so as to know exactly what big good idea just crept into his mind.

"I believe that those two Supreme Kais have been called in to have something to do with Gohan and Tenchi's training, right?" Vegeta stated as well as asked for clarification.

"Yeah, you're right," Bulma said in glee at first, which quickly turned into disgust due to the next thing she figured. "Except that old Kai might remember that stupid promise from Goku and try to kiss me."

"Don't remind me," Vegeta seconded, smirking at the idea that the old man really thought he ever had a chance at it. He would probably get along a whole lot better with Master Roshi than anyone else in the group. "Now, the two of you have seen Raditz, one of my old partners in time. And even though he was weak compared to me and Nappa, I always preferred him because he wasn't such an idiot. Now he's a Super Saiyan, and from what I hear, he once blew Nappa to bits immediately after transforming."

"He's even more arrogant than you," Bulma interrupted, clearly disliking that certain quality about the long-haired Saiyan.

"And what's wrong with a little pride?" Vegeta asked with a smile, knowing that Bulma would recognize that he represented what was not wrong with a little pride. She couldn't help but smile back at the sweet and sour prince, but still quickly regained her more serious stance for the most part.

"Okay, there's a difference. You're arrogant because you're proud of yourself and of your race. He's arrogant because he thinks he's better than everyone else," Bulma finally retorted.

"Actually, I don't think he's actually that bad," Trunks spoke up, confusing his children. "I don't know what it is, but there's something about him I don't get. And I think it has something to do with that crazy cyan-haired space lady that got you in trouble with Goten's mom."

"She's practically even worse than they say her blonde friend is. She may not try to be, but she's nothing but trouble, and I haven't seen her fighting abilities yet," Vegeta shot, expressing instant disapproval about Ryoko. "I, for one, am glad she's obsessed with Tenchi and not me. Especially since for as much stronger as she's supposed to be than you, you might get angry enough to kill her before we see any of it."

"I know how mad Mom can get, so I'm gonna just… go ahead and second that," Trunks stated, stirring his parents' heads towards him as he laughed nervously. The laugh slowly changed and became more loose and free as opposed to nervous and forced, during which his parents looked at one another and finally burst into laughter of their own. Finally, the sound of a man clearing his throat interrupted the scene at the table, as all three of them looked towards Dr. Briefs, who just left the tech lab and arrived at the table.

"I was just contacted by your friend from the Muyo realm, I believe her name is Washu," Dr. Briefs first announced. The gazes of his daughter, grandson, and son-in-law became more serious at this point. "She's just said that she is in the middle of devising a way to adjust power frequencies so that you guys can all better handle performing special attacks, because she believes that it would make us become more effective against this evil force that's supposedly going to take over the planet. She's currently in the design stages, but it might work well for…"

"I don't like Washu ever since she's said she was better than me, but I do like the idea," Bulma admitted, not forgetting the defensive addition of her ill thought of her counterpart from the other realm in the meantime. "You should probably go over there and help her with it."

"I hope you mean the good doctor here's going to help her build the device, because I'm not becoming a test subject unless I know this works!" Vegeta yelled in immediate objection to a certain distinct possibility.

As for the rest of the day and night at Capsule Corp, it was actually quite obvious. While Bulma washed the dishes (and Trunks stuck around to help his mom out because he didn't have all that much to do), Vegeta patiently waited in the gravity room and Dr. Briefs (with that familiar black cat and his bumbling wife Bunny in the background as well) returned to the lab in order to continue discussing Washu's device with her. As soon as Bulma and her son/assistant were done with washing the plates, she decided to wash her son up before going to her father and joining his discussion with the self-proclaimed "greatest scientist in the universe". After getting clean, Trunks joined his father for more high-gravity sparring, due to the nature of the situation the earth was in, but not much more. Soon, they ended up having your typical friendly talk between father and son, and came out smiling and not too ached before learning a little bit more about the secret.

Elsewhere at that point in time, a certain four evil cohorts found a planet in a neighboring solar system near Earth's, from which they looked upon the planet on which their enemies lived. The three males of the dark side stood with their arms folded across their chests, while Nagi had one hand placed on her hip. Confidence exuded from the dark foursome as they smiled; unfortunately, it was not heavily noticed, or noticed by anything at all for that matter.

"Well, I'm sure now they realize that the rules of the game have changed," Cell spoke, with a bold confidence about it which could intimidate any normal human being.

"How so?" Nagi asked in a shrewd tone, her smile becoming a mean smirk as she awaited anxiously the answer of Cell. It was almost as if she expected, or wanted, to hear a certain something come out of the perfect bio-android's mouth. However, the answer would come from another.

"Now they realize that it's not about which warrior is the strongest anymore. It's about the smartest side," Kagato answered matter-of-factly. This was his trademark; no matter what the circumstances, he continued to stay cool through all the excitement of the world. Even when Tenchi had slashed him to death, he remained calm, much unlike Cell and Garlic Jr. once they found their plans foiled and themselves defeated by Gohan. His cool demeanor was now beginning to rub off on them as well, a little bit, at least at this point in time.

"Well, I, for one, love the idea that we won't go by the rules of so-called "honor" by letting them win if they are stronger than us no matter how little thought they put into battling," Garlic Jr. expressed his thought, a subtle pleasure emanating from him as he spoke. "Though a small piece of me wishes that I could have finished off Tenchi myself."

"To be honest, they did kinda use their brains, those friends of Tenchi's, when they verbally motivated him and distracted you so that he could get the edge in that attack from the Lighthawk Wings," Nagi noted in acknowledgement of what the good guys had managed to do in the earlier battle.

"They were equally using their hearts. And as you can see, Nagi, it wasn't enough," Kagato replied matter-of-factly before changing the subject. "As for our next order of business, I propose we go into space and find the broken remains of what used to be my battleship, the glorious Souja. I want to rebuild it."

"Come to think of it, that might be a good idea," Garlic Jr. approved of the proposition made by his clerical friend. "After all, we'll need a home base if we are to set up our empire of revenge and death. I'll help you look for the pieces to your ship, Kagato."

"While we're at that, Nagi will watch my back from afar as I enjoy a little sparring session against a family of old friends," Cell announced, turning towards her as she nodded darkly, war beginning to show up on her face.

And so, it is at this point that we finally head towards the next day. Yesterday, Goku and Chichi had decided on taking a little bit of a picnic outside, at the midpoint between home and the site of Ryo-Ohki's crater. Of course, little Son Goten came with them, seeing as how his brother wasn't here, and it would be cruel and unfair to leave the eight-year-old kid with nothing to do. Of course, Goku was staying a Super Saiyan the whole time, having mastered the energy of the super transformation. This even carried on as they had gone to sleep out there looking at the stars. Shortly after the sun fully rose, the three were still sleeping when they Ox-King had come out to their spot. Looking at them sleeping peacefully, he wanted to let the three continue to slumber, but knew that they had a heavy day ahead of them with finding out how much stronger Gohan got and if anything major was going to happen as far as Cell and company, so his next action was one that was taken with no other choice in mind.

"Goten! Goku! Chichi! Wake up!" he finally yelled out from right above them. Finally, the three began to stir. One by one, they could be seen struggling to open their eyes, rubbing some sand out of said eyes, and then finally opening them and getting up. Chichi was first in this cycle, followed by her husband - who stayed Super Saiyan - and their youngest son.

"Whoa, we stayed out here all night?" Goten asked, in a combination between confusion and amazement. Goku looked to him and nodded, then said a simple, "Yep."

"But now it's time for the three of you to come back home. We have a big day ahead of us, you never know what could happen," the Ox-King added, making sure the morale was up and the reminder was there. He then led the three back to the house while Chichi carried the bag and blanket. Only Ox-King and Chichi went inside, however, as Goku stopped and looked back for awhile, sensing something severely wrong in the air. Goten noticed his father's gaze and also stared back, although he didn't notice anything. They were oblivious to the exact nature of the fact that a certain green perfect being was watching from far above them, above their line of sight. Finally, though, Goten and Goku turned back around and started walking again toward the house, when a light started to emanate from behind them. But before they could turn around again, an explosion had already occurred not too far from behind them. In fact, the house actually shook a little bit, a few dishes could be heard breaking, and all four of them were knocked off balance. Goku and Goten, who were outside and right near the blast, were blown a few inches back. Once they finally recovered their balance, they turned around and found the ground before them charred and a thick cover of smoke clouding the area in front of them, though nothing happened to the house from the outside. While the smoke began to clear and a shape commenced in forming from behind it, Goku and Goten finally got back up and dusted themselves off, while Chichi came out in immediate concern.

"Goku! Goten! Are you okay?" she called, beginning to run towards the boys before seeing the look on his face. It was a look of fierce determination, the same kind of look he put on every time he was ready to battle another bad guy. Seeing this, she really saw no choice in the matter, even if she wanted to tell at whoever it was at the top of her lungs. She finally retreated towards the house, but made sure to watch from the windows, getting a front row sight at exactly what was the problem with the world right now. It was none other than…

"Cell!" Goku screamed out, immediately recognizing the face of this familiar white-faced enemy that is mostly black and green everywhere else. Cell had a confident smile on his face, which scared Goten a little bit, as well as seriously unnerved Goku.

"Goku and Goten! How nice of you to show yourselves! -Oh, I forgot. You didn't show yourselves, I did!" Cell joked around for one second.

"Quiet! Cell, do you really think I'm gonna believe that you're here to try and crack jokes?" Goku forcibly demanded, stirring up a slight shiver into Cell before the combination of the greatest fighters in the history of the Earth quickly got over it.

"So you're right. I'm not. That means you'll definitely take it as an omen," Cell began as his face and voice soon turned serious, "when I tell you that I came here to kill you. You and everyone else here!"

The shockwaves developed now within Goku, as he just realized that Chichi and the Ox-King were also in danger from this. He knew that Cell was trying to draw him out into going Super Saiyan 3 immediately, before he could get into the flow of the fight. While he was actually perceptive enough on the battlefield not to get caught into a trap like that, he had to consider that Cell was threatening his family here, and at least power himself up somewhat. So, while he did not lose his eyebrows and gain hair as long as Raditz, he did suddenly emanate a golden glow and let out a very loud scream of battle for about five to ten seconds, which shook up the ground underneath his building power. Soon after the scream was finished, his entire body turned a bright yellow, before getting back to all its normal color. The hair of the son of Bardock, as well as the rest of him, including his golden glowing ki signature, became tougher and more defined. Not only that, there were a few electric sparks to go along with that, clearly signifying that this was the Super Saiyan 2 power-up.

"Cell, I can see it in your eyes, that you truly intend to kill everyone here in the area, and everyone else on earth," Goku finally spoke, the fire in his voice and in his eyes saying the next part for him. Though many little rocks in the area had been strewn about during the transformation, Cell never really moved at all in response. "If you want anyone, you'll have to beat me first!"

"Actually, I'm not interested in you first. I want to know if your little son here can survive me at a fraction of my power," Cell refused and inquired at the same time. Both Goten and Goku now grew scowling faces.

"Oh, yeah? You think you're gonna get me like that, Cell? Come on! Fight me!" Goten stepped up and demanded, to the horror of Goku and of the in-house spectator known as Chichi, before transforming himself into a Super Saiyan. Goku instantly became alarmed to this and brushed his son behind him whilst telling him not to fight in this one because it's too dangerous.

"You're not gonna at least let me try, Daddy?" Goten objected to the request of his father.

"Goten, I'm sorry, but I don't want you getting hurt! Now stop trying to fight this one!" Goku advised in frustration at his son's stubbornness. He was definitely getting that from hanging around Trunks and being a half-Saiyan.

"No! He kills people, and I want to fight him!" Goten explained strongly, before rushing to confront Cell and firing away what seemed to be about sixteen blows a second, Cell managing to either block or dodge each and every single one of them, although the raging Goten was forcing him to back up quite a bit. Though no harm was being done to him, Cell was struggling big time, and had yet to find any opportunity to knock off the young warrior. It was around this same time that he had noticed Gohan's energy signal approaching. This put him further into the predicament of how not to get caught by surprise by this angry kid whose brother happens to be the reason Cell needed to come back from the dead in the first place, for he lost his focus for one millisecond and almost paid for it. Goten was still making him back up, which impressed Gohan (who was in the air in his Kai costume), Goku, and Chichi a little bit, but the furious-fisted Goten did not even notice anyone else. He had no intent to let up on this one, because this was his father that he was fighting for here, and he had no intention on letting Cell get to him early. Punch after punch after punch after punch, Goten was throwing, Cell was dodging, Goten was pushing himself forward, Cell was backing up, and yes, it seemed as if the eight-year-old boy was having a little bit of an upper hand, much like an eleven-year-old boy had the upper hand on the android of perfection just roughly about eight and something years ago, though not as imposed. Yes, it was clear that Cell was indeed the superior fighter just taken by surprise, but the mere sight of Goten fighting like this, the fact that this little guy could press so hard onto Cell, impressed his big brother, who was still in flight, thinking how much Goten reminds him of himself.

As if Cell being forced to back up with absolutely no time to recover was shocking, the next fact is going to come as a true surprise: finally came the time when Cell could no longer continue dodging Goten. He ended up taking a good fifty hits to his midsection in a mere matter of seconds, followed by a flying kick to the side of his face, which turned said face into the direction he was being blasted into. Cell was brought to his knees with his back turned to Goten, who took the time and opportunity to catch his breath for a few seconds, before all of a sudden firing with a monster barrage of ki energy blasts, all of which were able to penetrate Cell's barely set guard and hit him to deliver damage. This reminded Gohan of when his kid brother was throwing rocks at him, except he had time to get ready.

_Wow. Look at him. He's amazing!_ were among Goku's thoughts as the Saiyan hero also wondered for how long his son was going to be able to keep this up. Now, sure, Goten was going strong, and he was half Saiyan, but even mixed blood Super Saiyan power has its limitations. That was something Goten quickly learned, for as he fought Cell, he quickly felt a lot of his energy beginning to drain from him. However, like any other kid when doing something they really considered important, he didn't really care how tired he got at first. However, now was when he knew he was going to have to get the last piece in.

_I don't think this is enough!_ But I have to try! Goten convinced himself internally whilst building his energy and putting his hands and body in proper formation so as to prepare to deliver the attack by which he could finally finish this one. "Ka, me, ha, me, HA!"

Finally, he released the extra powerful wave towards Cell and, amazingly, showed total control over it. He didn't even wait for the smoke that had built up due to his ki barrage to clear: he knew where Cell was, and he intended to strike that spot. He did exactly so, and there was even more smoke in the area now. Finally, after the Kamehameha, Goten tired out and tried to catch his breath, having expended a lot of energy and fury into that non-verbal but yet more than verbal assault. However, he did not revert to normal form, nor did he stop glowing. The smoke was now just starting to clear, all spectators standing there, frozen at the scene. From this point, Goten watched intently, waiting for his opportunity to pounce. As soon as he saw a single piece of Cell that was not behind any smoke, Goten ran for his head… but instead of being able to attack, Goten became victim to a blow-away exertion of wind energy, which sent him flying backwards, continuing even after he passed behind Goku. Finally, Cell could be seen, seemingly teleporting out of the smoke-filled zone, and getting behind Goten, so as to knee him in the back of the head, sending him flying upwards. Cell, however, flew high himself at a faster rate than Goten, eventually deciding to stop so he could catch his leg, swing the child around like a lasso, and finally throw him down in the direction of the ground right before his father. Goten fell to a crashing thud, landing hard into the ground. As Goten laid there in front of his appalled father, he refused to pass out or get back to normal mode, but at the same time, he didn't make much effort to get up for the first few seconds. Goten clenched his fists and ground his teeth, his entire body shaking in anger as Cell went up to the sky, and raised his hands in a familiar position.

"Oh, no!" Goku exclaimed. "He's setting up for the Spirit Bomb!" Gohan heard him, and his eyes began to narrow in fear a slight bit, before they returned to normal at the sound of his anger inside. Meanwhile, Goku was right on the money, but even more right than he figured. What was above Cell's hands turned from nothing to a massive green ball of energy capable of destroying any planet. And it became so in a matter seconds. Cell was smiling and laughing now, as he knew he had the power to end this fight, and pretty much all life on earth here.

"Yes! Goku, for once you were right! This is a Spirit Bomb! But not just any Spirit Bomb. This isn't developed by nature, fool! This is developed by the cells of every warrior within me, including you, Goku, and your now futile son, Gohan!" the crazed Cell exclaimed, as he was ready to destroy. "Begone!"

"HAAAAAAA!" Gohan screamed out, stirring all others into turning around as he shot a running wave of energy straight into the ball. Like a balloon, Cell's ball was able to stretch itself inwardly at first, but after a good long while and a strong push from Gohan, his wave was able to go right through the ball, tearing a hole in it and causing it to explode right above Cell. The light from that explosion was extremely bright, but not enough to really blind anyone. However, it did cause Cell a little discomfort, in the form of a temporary body-wide stinger. A few seconds later, he was able to look over at the perpetrator of the blast, as did everyone else, and finally realized exactly who was there.

"Gohan!" Goku called up loudly, after which Gohan turned around to his dad and smiled, giving a thumbs up to the man before he turned back to Cell.

"You want to destroy my little brother and my dad, Cell?" he asked, in the strong but somewhat silent tone of the power-heightened warrior. However, his voice did start to raise a little with each of the following questions. "You want to destroy everyone and everything I hold dear, as well as everything else, huh? Is that what you want, Cell? Then… you'll have to go through me!"

"Oh, and what can you do? You've weakened from being a school boy once again," Cell duly noted in full brash underestimation of the one that killed him in the past. Then, finally, he noticed the Ki glow of Gohan: it was blue, as was the electricity that currently surrounded Gohan at the moment.

"Here's a tip, Cell. There's more where that came from. And it's time for you to see what I can do," Gohan promised. Now this fight is beginning to get interesting.

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Cell: "Impressive display of power. But, I'm going to tell you this as if I ever needed to. I am superior to you in every way. You can't win. Your victory is impossible."

-Goku: "I can see you've gotten stronger as well. But you're still not going to beat me, or Gohan, or Goten, or anyone else!"

-Cell: "You and your son are facing me at the pinnacle of your power, and I'm still holding my own about as much as you. Explain to me how you have a chance once I use a certain higher muscle even more!"

-Gohan: "Next time on **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, it's time for me to show Cell what I'm all about once again in **Chapter 11: Rise of Power**."

-Kagato: "Finally, evil's destiny awaits."


	11. Rise of Power

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Prime Legend Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: No details on the Madri Scholar, or his special visitor, or what the heck happened to Gohan and Tenchi during their training. Strange… oh well. I did it for a reason.

**Chapter 11: Rise of Power.**

Cell stood in amazement at Gohan for a second, knowing that once again, his power has grown long enough to destroy pretty much anyone else. _I wonder… h-how does he go it? How does he get so strong all the time after coming out so weak to begin the war?_

"On this day, I see clearly. Everything has come to light," he finally stated, regaining a some of his composure whilst quoting Alterbridge's song "Metalingus", the entrance theme for a guy named Edge in WWE. But that's a different story for another day. Back to this. "So, you've augmented your power once again."

"I can see you're still as calculating as always," Gohan also figured out, his gaze unrelenting as he stared down the enemy he destroyed in the past as a child.

"Perhaps even moreso, now that my I'm part of a team of bad partners. They think almost as much as I do, which is what impresses me most," Cell explained, a smirk coming on at those words. "I'm telling you, they are starting to rub off on me."

"You mean those killers? The ones who terrorized Eighteen and did away with Krillin and Yamcha?" Goku needlessly yelled in the direction of Cell. He already knew the answer, as well as who they are, but his sentiment of vengeance towards the murder of his childhood friends was not a forgotten emotion. The lines by which Nagi crossed were extremely wrong, and there was nothing that could change such a thing, even if she is a woman. And that would probably only have a real chance of working in the face of Master Roshi.

"Terrorizing Eighteen? Killing Krillin and Yamcha? Why, those may be the highlights in your eyes of why we need to be killed in your opinion. But to tell you the truth, Goku, as if you didn't already know this about any of us; that is only the beginning," Cell explained vaguely, though not too vaguely for the Son brothers and their father to fully confirm their understanding of what their current enemy and his friends were capable of. Back inside the house, Chichi was about to go on the verge of fainting, and probably would have without her father's hand to keep her company, although he, too, was paralyzed with fear.

"Now, as for why I attacked all of you, I'll tell you again," Cell continued. "Everyone in this area is going to DIE!" Upon saying that last word, Cell rushed towards Gohan, ready to attack the Kai-boosted half-Saiyan at full might. He was surprise to find out, though, that Gohan blocked his punch. Cell then threw a high-speed kick towards Gohan's midsection, but the warrior blocked it fully, giving Cell feeling as if he had run into a wall of the strongest metal in space. If he'd been watching carefully enough, he'd know that said strongest metal in space was associated with Gohan's training for a few seconds during the war with Buu. Cell started to grind his teeth, sensing the inferiority in the picture. Gohan smirked at that, sending an aura of a lacking of confidence into Cell. This led to Cell furiously assaulting Gohan with punches and kicks: the flurry was at an incredible speed that the untrained naked eye could never hope to fully sight. Yet for each and every attack Cell threw at Gohan, he either felt it stop, or he didn't feel it hit anything at all. Soon, he stopped his attack, grinding his teeth in anger at the concept that he could ever be inferior to this kid again. He concentrated the majority of his power now into his right leg for one single kick. The kick landed at the side of Gohan's ribs, and delivered him excruciating pain. However, it was more of a major stinger than a real injury, and Gohan quickly got over it, turning around and forcing Cell away from him with a ki wave which knocked back the monster. Gohan and Cell looked at one another, with determination and fury in their eyes. A few marks appeared on the face of Cell's person as he furiously ground his teeth and clenched his fists, the frustration building within Cell. However, just as quickly, that frustration faded, and his face stopped showing signs of the grimace, and began to display the appearance of a focused warrior who just discovered something key to his mission.

"So, that strong, huh?" Cell finally spoke, a tint of surprise coming upon his voice. "I love it. I can tell you now that I know this isn't going to be a squash match. However, as you can see, I've gotten stronger, too. And what's more is, it was something from Hell that helped me out, yet your uncle Raditz has absolutely no idea how that happened."

"And nor does anyone else, but is that supposed to matter at all, Cell?" Gohan demanded calmly, his concentration not being broken in the least.

"Yes, it is supposed to matter, for both body and mind have been trained excessively, for the sole reason of revenge and destruction!"

"You're kind of overusing that last word, Cell. Is that any way to make friends?" Goten - who had gotten up during the first part of Gohan vs. Cell - quipped in confusion, causing Goku to crash to the floor in disbelief.

"Actually, Goten, it has helped me make friends. Three friends, in fact, who think like I do in a vague sense," Cell answered after looking down to face the kid. "Now, I hope you're ready to go to the Other World, because that will be your home from now on, as well as that of everyone else in the universe that refuses to bow down to me and my friends!"

"Oh, great? When were you interested in world conquest?" Goku asked now

"Let's just get one thing straight. I don't want to be a tyrant conqueror. That part of our goals come from Garlic Jr. and Kagato. I'm merely entertained by the notion of suffering, pain, and the word I've been overusing," Cell responded, careful not to use said word although it was obviously a part of his point. "Now, back to the imminent destruction of one Son Gohan."

"Imminent destruction?" Gohan stirred, questioning Cell's overconfident judgment. "You really need to work on knowing your enemies."

"And what exactly do you mean by th… huh?" Cell stopped himself in the midst of his question as soon as he realized at an energy wave was building in Gohan's right hand. Once he had built it up long enough and it took Cell's attention, Gohan finally fired the blast, which went on to strike Cell. It did have a good amount of marginal impact on him, and although he didn't exactly get knocked down by it, Cell knew that he was in for a fight. But he had no time to sort out his thoughts, because Gohan was coming at him. Gohan came at Cell with a flurry of punches of his own, which seemed like he was coming with seven powerful fists instead of two. Cell managed to block most of the punches, but a few hit his gut, and finally, he managed to separate himself from Gohan using his feet. In the ensuing stare down, Gohan and Cell both ended up catching their breath a little bit. However, as furious as this fight was at this point, Gohan and Cell both knew something about this fight.

"I see, Gohan. You're not using any more strength than you feel you have to for any certain piece of the fight. Not only have you re-augmented your power, you've grown wiser as well," Cell realized aloud, a smirk coming on his face at that. "You won't use everything until the time is right, whatever that ends up meaning, for if you do expose your assets too soon, you get taken advantage of. Big time. Whether in fighting, or in life. And in only a couple of years in high school, you're a veteran."

Finally, Cell's eyes widened, as well as sharpened, after which he stuck his arm out forward and let out a huge scream, sending some wind into Gohan and knocking him back with his energy. After this attack, Cell finally lunged forward in the air towards Gohan and went for a few more flying fists. Finally, he hit Gohan with a couple of hard punches, but the fast-paced burst mode style action continued to go on, as Cell and Gohan traded the advantage in this fight. Meanwhile, Goku and Goten looked on from above, and as Goten's eyes scrambled to follow the pattern of booming lights that came from this fight, Goku had a much better grasp on exactly where they were.

_Whoa. They're moving so fast, and so well. I know Gohan is about as strong as me again with this new Mystic power, I've known that since last time this happened. But to be that much of a match for Cell is… kind of mind-boggling, for several reasons._

Far away from them, though, Nagi was watching, behind a tree in the woods. Even she was beginning to struggle with the art of having a grasp on exactly how this battle was going. She was amazed at the speed and the flux of power that was present within this battle, and easily failed to keep it from being written all over her face. _The action is so fast between these guys. I never expected this. I'm gonna have to spar with Cell a little bit to get used to this, just in case I have to go against one of them._

Meanwhile, over at the Masaki house, Ayeka was in the middle of watching soaps on the TV in the living room when Raditz came down the stairs and noticed her. He looked over at the Princess of Jurai, who seemed to be spaced out a little bit. She was watching the soaps, but while she would have normally reacted to some saddening segment or another, there were several "tear-jerkers" that she seemed to completely miss. He figured that she was worried about Tenchi and that he shouldn't have anything to do with it, but wanted to go talk to her anyways. He needed something to do around here, and since Ryoko was asleep, Tenchi wasn't here, and there was no way he'd take the risk of getting experimented on by Washu just to talk to Yugi and Sakuya or disturb anyone else around. And if all else is abandoned, the only course of action possible to take would be to converse with the prim and proper purple-haired princess.

"Hey, Princess," he called to her, before walking over to the sofa she was sitting on. "Mind if I join you?"

"Huh?" Ayeka stirred, turning around to acknowledge the presence of the newcomer. "Oh, certainly." She scooted over a space or two so as to give him room to sit without being immediately next to her. "What is it?"

"Nothing, but I notice you're not exactly jumping out of your seat in objection or welling up as usual," Raditz told her, during which he sat down, leaning back against the sofa with his hands behind his head. At that, Ayeka immediately gasped and blushed in embarrassment, which she quickly recovered from. Another feeling surged within the girl, an admittance of defeat, as she sighed and bowed her head.

"There's no use masking it. I'm only watching these for routine today. I'm completely worried about Lord Tenchi," she finally spoke aloud. Sasami was passing by behind the sofa when she heard the admission from Ayeka, and finally turned around and came a little closer. Oblivious to the third party in the conversation, Ayeka continued: "I don't know what changes he has or hasn't made, and the possibilities… quite frankly, they leave me in fear."

"He's exactly like Kakarot. Pure, virtuous, and driven by an ever-flowing care for his friends. Chances are, all that happens is he's stronger, better, and more skilled as a fighter and as a man," Raditz nonchalantly predicted, to which she replied by turning around and asking him, "Are you sure?" He merely gave her a thumbs up for an answer. This gave Ayeka a sense of relief, causing her to smile a little. Sasami, watching from behind, knew that Ayeka was now comforted at least for the moment and walked on upstairs with a highly content and innocent smile on her face. It was at this point that Raditz and Ayeka noticed her. They turned to watch her as she left, then to one another.

"Was she listening behind us?" a slightly annoyed Raditz asked.

"She has a habit of such things. But it's all in good nature," Ayeka took her turn to reassure him. "I thought you would be training with Ryoko and the blond girl."

"To be honest, I wanted to train with you this time. And not in the normal training around, either. I don't want to get caught by Katsuhito," Raditz answered, not masking the fact that he was not willing to get shown up by an old man.

"I see. You have a fear of Yosho," she wittingly concluded, ticking him off a slight bit.

"I do not fear him!" Raditz stormed in reaction, standing up as emphasis. "I just seriously dislike the fact that an old man can actually be more powerful than me!" Immediately after yelling out those words, Raditz suddenly felt something. It was two familiar powers, though both were larger than he was ever used to them being. One was completely pure and had only its own vibe, while the other was a shade of total corruption followed by about a thousand mixed vibes. He immediately knew who was fighting in this one.

"It's Gohan vs. Cell… again!" Raditz shot out, stirring Ayeka as he immediately ran out the window past the TV and flew out of there.

Back on the makeshift battlefield which was pretty much right outside the Son family home, Gohan and Cell continued to trade attacks, and the fact remains that it was phenomenal. The advantage was being traded back and forth all over the place, and the ones following this battle were all getting lost. Gohan was beginning to take a more dominant edge this time, however, as he was starting to back Cell up. Soon, Cell's defense was finally completely penetrated, and Gohan had the free floor to completely pummel him. The high school hero did exactly so, with high knees, uppercuts, straight hooks, and jabs being among the hits that he landed on Cell. After a point, he hit over fifteen straight punches to the gut of Cell, followed by a spinning kick which sent Cell plummeting down to the ground. Gohan didn't even wait for any sign of life to come out of Cell, knowing that he hadn't finished him off at all. Gohan dove down and crashed his two feet straight into the back of Cell, before jumping off and getting back into a fighting stance.

"Attaboy, Gohan!" Chichi screamed out from behind the window inside the Son home. "Knock that stupid monster's socks off!"

"Yeah!" Goten cheered, next to Goku as they watched on from close distance. "That's how you beat up on Cell, big brother!" As they were prematurely celebrating the mere art of impact, Cell struggled mightily to get back up on his feet. He managed to get his face up off the ground and get up to his knees, but almost as soon as he started to further boost himself up, the stinging pain in his back kept him down to his knees, and would have forced him down lower had he not pushed against the ground with his hands. However, while it took awhile, he did manage to finally suck it up and get himself back up into a vertical balance. No later than that did he double over, and he was now grimacing in pain and favoring his midsection. Wherever you could see scratch and tear marks, there they were all over him. Purple blood wounds began to appear on his face as well.

"Gohan! Finish him!" Goku instructed immediately, knowing that his son had the edge. As Gohan readied himself to put his hands together, Cell began to regain himself, the pain starting to subside a little bit. At this point, Gohan held his hands forward, crossed over his head. A yellow energy bell was starting to form in front of his hands. Had Piccolo been watching this fight from up close, he would have known exactly what move Gohan was going for. This was the move that he had learned from Piccolo as a child, back when he was being trained for the arrival of the Saiyans. Cell, having cells of both Gohan and Piccolo within his systems, immediately recognized the move that Gohan was going for. He hadn't forgotten it growing up after all…

"Okay, Gohan! Show me what you've got! I'm not finished with you yet!" Cell shot in defiant anger, opening himself to the attack. Nagi had started appearing from behind the woods, before she heard this and immediately backed up in shock. _What the heck is he thinking? Is he trying to get killed? Doesn't he understand I need him if I'm going to catch Ryoko?_

"Masenkoooooooo!" Gohan called, the yellow ball over his hands getting a tad bit larger, and its shine more defined. Cell saw this, and actually began to build up and gather his ki, though not for any attack. The yellow glow emanated from around his body, and he was in the ever so familiar power-up position. The situation had officially started taking a small bit of a strange turn. On one end, Gohan just about had his Masenko blast charged up and was about to seriously burn Cell, putting the monster in position where he was prone to finish him off. But on the other hand, Cell was actually building up his ki, getting ready to boost his power, going into a more power-weighted version of this Super Perfect form.

"Gohan! He's building his power! Hurry up now!" Goku warned his son yelling at the top of his lungs, having noticed that the boy's window of opportunity was running out. Gohan duly noted the call from his full-blooded Saiyan hero of a father and, with a loud scream, launched the Masenko beam with much more ferocity and power behind it than he ever had charged it with before in his life. As the wave shot on its course, heading directly towards Cell, closer and closer to the green monstrous being, its shooter was keeping on the strong push, hoping and praying inside that this was going to be enough to finish Cell. That way, it would become the beginning of the end for the alliance of sentient villains they were confronted with, and soon, hell and high water would no longer have any impact on anyone ever again, at least not in this form. However, Gohan's chances would decrease, even as his push increased slightly, when Cell finally released all the latent energy he needed to unlock in order to fully establish himself as the supreme perfect being. The power surge was more ground-shaking than anything this world had ever felt or seen. Obviously, the Son home was struggling to keep itself upright. No, wait, it couldn't keep itself upright. It was blown away into the sky, along with both of the people that were stuck inside. Even some of the trees in the woods where Nagi hid began to rustle ever so slightly, forcing her to back up further, probably to where she would not be able to see the Son family and Cell's fight, unless she wanted to eventually get discovered by the enemies. As for the Masenko blast, Gohan was now having a bit of a hard time getting through the hemispheric barrier that formed around the bio-android Cell as he boosted himself. One guy was building up his power and protecting himself at the same time, while the other guy was trying to penetrate said effort in order to injure him. Completing Cell's power-up, a bright light started flashing throughout the entire mountain area, as if it was fireworks popping up, set off merely by Cell's enormous power. Finally, the Masenko blast made it past Cell's little firewall, but he was not even hurt at all by the impact. His power was building, and not even the worst of Gohan's fury could penetrate it and damage him in the least. Also, the light from the blast stopped flashing and fully came on due to the blast and the final end of the power buildup.

Once the light was done, you could see that Gohan had worn out a little bit. The electricity was faded from him, and so was the phosphoric glow, and he was panting and perspiring slightly. Meanwhile, Cell still had his battle scars on him, but now was smiling, glowing, and electric, just like he had been before, when he first returned from that explosion under his super perfect form. It was during this that the Son family home finally landed, strangely enough, in one piece, and at the exact spot where it had been before. Inside the house, Chichi and the Ox-King were right behind the front door, laying there, both completely dazed and dizzy, with hypnotic symbols for eyes. The outright grand surge of power that flowed within Cell was sensed by Goku, who now had a look of fear in his eyes for a second: the fear that his son was not only on the losing end of this, but would probably now end up rendered completely unable to defend himself against this monster called Cell.

Cell laughed confidently. "I can see that you've used up quite a bit of energy. While I am back, in full mode, and better than I have ever been! Please tell me how you could possibly stand a chance against me at the moment! Ha ha ha!"

"YAAAAAA!" Goku shouted angrily as he released a wave of energy from his right hand towards Cell. The monster was caught off guard, but managed to recover himself in time to play a little defense, going into guarding position and successfully blocking it from getting into full impact. However, he did notice that Goku's hair and outfit were starting to blow in a wind, which meant that he was ready to power up himself. Goku's buildup was faster, due to not having to fight through pain on this one, and he was able to release it very soon. It shook the ground we walked on, but didn't generate any special lights on this occasion. However, you could see that his hair was about as long as that of Raditz, and he had no eyebrows. Now, he had a phosphoric glow and electric feel to him that was almost as great as that of Cell. Wait a minute, did I just say "almost as great?" That is a clear sign that Cell has indeed improved in power. Cell's slightly egotistical stance stopped at that point, and his face almost immediately became serious. It was going to be time to go it out with a fighter once again. No words needed to be spoken in order to explain the situation. Both Goku and Cell had that warrior's look in their eyes, as if they were ready to take each other down. Cell turned his lips upside down once again to form a smirk, provoking Goku into charging for the first move. The Super Saiyan 3 warrior acted accordingly, coming at Cell with a flying shoulder block. The bio-android dodged the move, leaving an after image behind. He appeared behind Goku, trying to get him with a diving kick, but Goku evaded the blast and left an after image of his own. Cell was scrambling and looking around, when Goku went at him with a flying elbow attack, and even then, he left an after image. After that, he quickly broke the apparent cycle of what is going on, by not going for a physical attack. Instead, he shot a barrage of ki from above Goku, stunning and doing harm to him for a while before Goku suddenly flew upward out of the smoke that was quickly building up from the constant ki balls. Once he escaped the targeted area, flying _around_ the blasts, Cell saw that Goku was not getting harmed from the assault, and quickly stopped his attack. However, it was too late, for Goku's uppercut quickly caught him in the jaw, clocking him as a result of this. After this, Goku caught Cell and hit him with a devastating combo of twenty-something punches, then elbowed the top of the monster's head, forcing him right back down to ground level. Goku extended his arm and palm down in front of him where Cell was, during which an energy ball developed in front of that arm. It soon launched as a wave, which exploded that part of the ground and left a thick cloud of smoke behind. However, there was one small problem with that. Cell was not behind the smoke covers, yet his signal was still there.

As Goku tried to figure out where he was, he heard several shots coming from a further distance away from him than the cloud of smoke. He ran forward, past the smokescreen, and found that Gohan had recharged his batteries and was deflecting energy beam shots, batting them into the air to do so. The ki beams were being shot by Cell, who had backed himself up a safe distance. Goku saw this as an opportunity and decided to start throwing away energy blasts at Cell as well. As soon as Cell noticed Goku shooting away at him, he had to stop shooting away at Gohan in order to deflect these hits. Cell found himself deflecting away about ten blasts of energy per second, which got increasingly frustrating once Gohan joined the fun and basically turned it into twenty. By then, he was forced to cross his forearms in front of his face in defense position, after which Goten finally managed to get himself back involved in the battle, throwing more ki energy waves of his own as well. Though he did not have as significant an impact at this as Gohan and Goku did, Goten turned out to be a little bit more of a hassle for Cell to have to deal with at this point. He was being backed up, even with himself on guard. The combined force of Gohan, Goten, and Goku might start turning out to be a little too much for him. Nagi, watching this, knew that now was as good a time as any to step in. But before she could start sprinting out of the forest in order to try and save Cell from this vicious assault, luck would turn out that she didn't even really need to do so. Cell activated his energy field barrier, which blew away all incoming ki beams, as well as stunned the three Son boys into stopping. The three of them then put their hands together in perfect position.

"Kaaaa… meeee… haaaa… meeee…" they chanted simultaneously, as the blue energy waves started building within each Son's united hands. Unfortunately that display would be all in vain, as Cell stuck his hands out in front of his eyes with fingers spread apart and shouted the words, "Solar Flare!" The energy of the sun then generated a light which blinded everyone in the area except for Cell himself and anyone who was already knocked out or dizzy. All three of the Sons' eyes were practically wired shut by the pain of light, which Cell gladly took advantage of with a charging right hand hook to Gohan, a charging left hand hook to Goku, and a charging upper kick to Goten, which sent him into the air. Cell then charged up his own Kamehameha wave, and chanted the entire word at a high speed rate, not concerning himself with patiently charging up power. He wanted to take advantage of Goten's bad predicament in order to destroy him. As Cell's Kamehameha finally launched upward and went to shoot at Goten, Gohan finally recovered and saw it, then ignored all the pain that was throbbing at his face from that hit, shooting an angry wave of his own straight its way. Luckily, Gohan's interception worked in time, completely stopping Cell's Kamehameha and forcing it to explode before it hit its target. It was around this very same time that Goten finally regained his balance and managed to stop himself, extending all four of his prone limbs to do so.

Goku now recovered from the Solar Flare, and he went flying at Cell. With a leaping spinning kick, he knocked Cell back a few feet before the monster regained his balance. Goku then shot another energy wave, which hit Cell and staggered him a little bit. Meanwhile, Gohan was flying towards him in an arch for a hard double axe handle to the top of his head below. It hit its target perfectly, knocking Cell silly for one moment in time. However, he quickly shook it off and hit a huge roundhouse kick straight to Gohan's head, sending him rolling sideways and falling flat on his stomach. Goten tried to charge in from above, but Cell noticed it, and he immediately stuck his arm and palm out in Goten's direction and screamed, supported by a burst of wind which immediately sent Goku's youngest son flying high into the air. Goku took advantage of Cell's taken concentration, rushing over to get him with an open palm strike straight to the gut. However, Cell quickly recovered from the hit and took Goku's arm, using it to throw him aside. He landed on one of the trees, but wall-kicked off it instead of going right into it. As Goku dove at Cell, the monster shot out a large ki wave, before Goku used instant transmission to teleport out of it right behind Cell, where Goku struck him with an elbow to the upper spine, as difficult as that was because of the hard black wing thingies on his back. However, Cell recovered from the blast with a huge turnaround backhand strike to the side of Goku's head. Gohan took the opportunity to punch Cell straight in the forehead, which sent the very tall super being sliding down a few feet, flat on his back. Once Cell got up, he found himself the target of a sandwich ki wave attack between Gohan and his little brother Goten, who had stopped himself again and landed on the ground behind Cell. However, these two brothers were not as successful on this occasion with ki waves as the wrestlers Edge and Christian often were with chairs, for Cell was able to fly above the blasts, allowing the to collide into each other and explode. Cell then extended his right arm across himself, flaring up for a green Power Blitz wave. (he had acquired the ability to do that move from Seventeen and Eighteen back when he absorbed them) He fired it straight into the place where Gohan and Goku were, as the SS3 warrior was starting to stand again. Gohan noticed this and quickly charged and fired a Masenko blast to intercept the Power Blitz. It succeeded in doing so, which bought enough time for Goku to get back up on his feet.

Cell teleported behind Gohan in order to strike him down with a Power Blitz from behind, but before he could swing his arm forward to fire the beam, he found his arm blocked by Goku, who smiled and chuckled at him before punching him right in the face and sending him rolling back a few feet. However, Cell quickly regained his ground as Goku charged at him, and was able to activate his energy field again, knocking Goku back harshly. Also, this gave Cell an opportunity to stop the fast pace and slow things back a little bit. Unbeknownst to him at the moment, it would go on to do more than that.

Nagi was watching in the woods, as has been eluded to a thousand times before, and at this point, she had gone from amazed to irritated. She saw the power that Goku and his sons held, and knew that if Cell had gotten really careless at any point in time, this three-on-one would have ended in a disaster for Cell, and if she was found, for Nagi as well. _What the heck is he trying to do? Get himself killed or something? Usually I'd say it doesn't take this long to gauge somebody's power and then destroy them, but these guys are a little too good for him to face all by himself. Besides, I want to see how much success Garlic Jr. and Kagato have had in locating that ship of his._ It was with those thoughts motivating her that the evilly reformed bounty hunter finally sprinted towards the area where they were fighting and ran past the Son boys in order to get to Cell. He quickly looked at her with confusion and irritation coming in her voice.

"Cell, stop! These guys are way too good for you to be trying to face them all alone like this in their home area," Nagi warned him, sticking her hands out as a measure of emphasis to her statement.

"Nagi, get out of my way!" Cell quickly shot. He was enjoying this fight due to the spirit of the Saiyan cells within him.

"You're having a little too much fun here. It's clear to me that you're going to have to expend yourself if you want to destroy these three, and quite frankly, I don't think that would be a very good decision," Nagi tried to advise him. However, he wasn't listening.

"You've been watching this fight, Nagi. I know that. Surely you must see that I am stronger than each and every one of them," he argued himself, wanting obviously to continue the fight until Goku and his sons rested in peace.

"Yes, but you're not as much stronger than them as it would take to be able to kill all three easily. Maybe the little one's expendable, but these other two are not to be underestimated. If I remember what you told us right, didn't the one who stayed with the black hair just now kill you in the past?" Nagi persisted, this time finally striking a chord. If there was any moment in his life that Cell would want to forget, it was that great battle of the Kamehameha hemispheres. Cell grimaced in thought about the fact that he had been beaten in that battle, destroyed, and sentenced to what seemed like it would truly be an eternity in Hell, by a ten-year-old boy with one arm available, the other damaged by Cell himself. There was no way in hell he would ever want to relive that day ever again. It was with those memories and those thoughts aching his head that Cell finally decided to calm down his energy and get out of his fighting mode. He stood down.

"Hey, Cell! What are you doing?" Goku immediately demanded, wanting to continue the fight just as much as Cell did in the past. "Are you too scared to continue?"

"Actually, no, Goku. Nagi here just reminded me of some urgent business I've got to get to," Cell explained, somewhat falsely. He did remember about the Souja because of Nagi's intervention, but it had nothing to do with any of the words she said. But as soon as she uttered Nagi's name, a thought entered Goku's head: _Nagi? This is the one that killed Krillin! I can't believe I forgot!_ "You!"

At that point, Cell and his partner turned around towards the Sons, Nagi putting a smile on her face.

"I see you recognize us for doing away with your weak friends," she finally spoke to Goku. "Well, I'm pretty sure you know by now that I don't exactly care that much for what anyone else feels, either about me, or about my partners. Your friend Ryoko is the reason my pet is near death."

"From the sounds of that story, it sounded like a complete accident!" Goku shot in defense of his strange new friends. "Ryo-Ohki was probably just experiencing some discomfort because of how close the portal forced her and your ship to be! Your cabbit may have been hurt, but it didn't sound like theirs did anything on purpose!" His tirade soon took a more emotional turn, as a tear began to form in each of his eyes. "Sure, the injuries and the misunderstanding may have seriously hurt your pet spaceship… **but Nagi, that does not justify you killing Krillin and Yamcha like they were nothing! Those are my friends, who I met long before any of this Tenchi business came along, and they didn't do anything to you!**"

"Shut up! Normally I would've cared about that, but I think you forgot, I've rid myself of those virtues and emotions by taking in some of Garlic Jr.'s Sacred Black Water!" Nagi reminded Goku and his sons with a loud fury etched in her voice.

"What the heck is so sacred about evil water that causes someone like you to kill our friends?" Gohan retorted in anger.

"I don't think you understand! That drink gave me a new lease on life! It gave me a new edge, a new raw determination to get your new friend Ryoko and everyone she ever did or would hold near and dear, because of what she and her stupid she-cabbit did to my Ken-Ohki!" Nagi continued to explain furiously, refusing to let any of Goku's words cause her to relent in her cause. "I'm a cold and ruthless warrior now. And I've joined a dark alliance! But it's the only way I'll ever destroy Ryoko Hakubi! This used to be about getting back my stainless record as a bounty hunter… but it's so much more than that now! In the past, I would have wanted her to get arrested or to rest in peace. Now I want her to rest in pieces!"

The words of this ominous message finally struck Goku as to the true unwavering emotion of bitterness flowing within Nagi. He realized once and for all that while there was hope for other villains to reform in the past, there was no hope for bringing her back to whatever was her old self. At that, she put the hood of her black robe back over her head, and Cell put a hand on her shoulder, as well as the middle and index fingers of the other hand onto his own forehead. Locating what was probably the area where Kagato and Garlic Jr. were, Cell vanished into thin air with the bounty hunter.

They found themselves at the same dark planet, except this time, their partners Garlic Jr. and Kagato had recollected pieces of a once trashed ship littered on a floor near them as if this was a landfill.

"So, this scrap metal was once a ship?" Cell asked the partners as he and Nagi moved towards them and the ship material.

"Well, it's not made of your Katcheen, but it's actually quite solid. It won't take me too long to put it together, at least not with your help it won't. And once we do, we will finally be able to take our mission further. The domination of the universe will be at hand, and no one will be able to stop it! Finally, evil's destiny awaits!" Kagato prophesized, with the backing of his own wicked laughter echoing through space.

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Goku: "Well, the fight's all over between me and my sons against Cell, but I can tell you this much, the war's not over yet."

-Raditz: "So, Kakarot. You couldn't kill him, or keep him here long enough for me to?"

-Gohan: "Sorry, Raditz, but we failed to keep him here."

-Raditz: "Damn! I knew I shouldn't have spent that time talking to Ayeka!"

-Goku: "You spent time talking to Ayeka? You really are changing."

-Madri Scholar: "Finally, my plans are beginning to come into fruition. Next on **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, we take a look at why this story is titled "Shift of Hearts" through the view at **Chapter 12: Warming Up the Scene**."

-Ryoko: "Could I possibly be getting _less_ interested in Tenchi?"


	12. Warming Up the Scene

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Prime Legend Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: I don't know when I'm going to get to the main point of the story just yet, but I do know this: this chapter will be a significant lead in its direction.

By the way, administrators: your updates to fix the uploading problem aren't exactly perfect. In fact, the first time I tried uploading after seeing your message about updating the system, it was this chapter, and my uploading problems started up again. Fortunately, it was more an overnight problem than a recurring problem, so no major worries… yet.

**Chapter 12: Warming Up the Scene.**

Back at the Son family home, Goku and his sons looked in front of themselves, seeing that Cell and Nagi were now gone, teleported to whatever secret location those bad guys like to leave off to. This was the sign that they had failed to destroy Cell on this one. Anger at that, and at the fact that Nagi had to appear, drove them into trembling clenched fists and grinded teeth.

"Darn it! We couldn't get them," Goku sounded off in frustration, pounding his right first into his left palm while at it. Then, he and his kids sensed and saw something approaching. After taking a look above them, they saw that it was Raditz flying in without the most pleased of expressions clouding his face. He came down and immediately walked over to Goku, then grabbed his little brother by the shirt, obviously trying to make a demand or something. It did draw the ire of the young nephews of Raditz, however.

"Kakarot. Where's Cell?" he demanded at last, with a growling angry expression on his own face.

"Would you let go of him? Cell and Nagi got away from us!" Gohan hastily informed his disgruntled uncle, to which Raditz finally shoved Goku back to the ground.

"What? Nagi was there too?" Raditz asked, his voice calmed down just a slight bit.

"We didn't see her when we were fighting Cell, but then she came in and told him to stop it, and they ran away," Goten detailed, keeping it as simple as himself while clearly telling Raditz exactly what happened.

"So, let me get this straight: in the past, Gohan alone at Super Saiyan 2 could destroy that monster Cell. Now, he's so powerful he doesn't even need Super Saiyan 2, and Kakarot is using Super Saiyan 3. You're in the fight yourself, as a regular Super Saiyan. And all three of you combined were useless against Cell?" Raditz inquired once more, cooling down as he suppressed his anger so as not to scare his littlest nephew, or his chances of alliance with this team.

"I wouldn't call us useless, just that we couldn't kill him," Goten answered calmly, in a simpleton-like manner. "You're not mad at us are you, Uncle Raditz?"

"Be quiet! You could have at least held him long enough for me to arrive so that I could destroy Cell! He's the one that bullied me the most at the Home For Infinite Losers!" Raditz instantly complained in response, kicking some dirt while at it. "I thought I was done with this crap when the universe warped and I escaped! Now I'm finding out he escaped Hell with me when I wasn't even paying attention, and he's become stronger than Kakarot!"

"Would you calm down already?" Gohan snapped in his ear, shocking him for a small moment there. "Look, we didn't get him this time, but he didn't get us either. He's probably as frustrated as you are right now! The best thing to do is to calm down, keep improving ourselves, and wait until next time."

"Which ever one of them shows up, we'll get them for sure next time we get a chance to, Raditz. Don't worry," Goku said, now up, with a reassuring smile to his big brother. Raditz looked at Goku for a few seconds, then turned away and started walking towards the Son family home.

"While I'm here, I might as well get inside," he said while walking, after which he gained three followers in the art in the form of his little brother and nephews, who actually lived where he was going. Once he got to the door, he knocked on there, after which Chichi answered the door. When she saw that it was Raditz, with the family right behind him, she sighed in relief and stepped aside. She'd recovered from the slight daze she was put in by the temporary ejection of the home into the sky, soon enough to see the end of the fight and the arrival of Raditz. As she finally let him into her home, things were beginning to turn up elsewhere.

Back over at the Masaki house, Ryoko had seen Raditz storming out to fly over to the Sons' place and immediately grew curious. She'd gotten the answer from Ayeka that the Saiyan apparently sensed that Gohan was fighting Cell. But before she had the opportunity to go anywhere, the notorious humanoid had to worry about Mihoshi tripping on the stairs and falling down with an assortment of hers and Kiyone's dirty clothes which fell on top of Ryoko. After awhile of yelling at the clumsy blonde, she had to go take a shower because of it. Just having finished with it a couple of minutes ago, she got back to the living room in a new outfit and was already heading towards the window so she could fly out.

"Hey, Ryoko! Where are you going?" Kiyone's voice suddenly boomed, stopping the space pirate before she could cross the window and take to the air.

"Oh, hi Kiyone. I'm gonna follow Raditz. I think he sensed a fight between Gohan and Cell or something," Ryoko explained.

"I see. So, I take it Mihoshi's mess hasn't gotten to you too bad," Kiyone smiled.

"So you heard. Hey, next time you guys have a lot of clothes to take down, would you mind if you got Videl to come over and carried it, or if you did it yourself? Mihoshi's got a habit of tripping up and letting things fall on top of people's heads," Ryoko suggested with a little wit placed in as she pointed to her own head of hair, which thanks to her immediately washing up for once had no trace of Mihoshi's mess.

"Sure thing. Hey, what happened to the android girl? I haven't seen her all day," Kiyone mentioned in reference to Eighteen.

"She's not completely an android, first of all," Ryoko instantly corrected. "Anyway, I think she said something about going to a Capsule Corporation or something."

"Oh, Capsule Corp? Videl told me about it. That's where Vegeta and Trunks live, with Bulma and her parents. I can't believe you never learned of it from the DB realm guys," Kiyone said with only the slightest hint of dramatization in her voice as she got to the "can't believe" part of that statement.

"Oh, yeah, I do remember hearing something like that, but I never really paid attention," Ryoko recalled, earning a chuckle from both Kiyone and herself. However, they were shut out by the hysterical laughter coming from Ayeka.

"Why, Ryoko, I never pegged you to be the attentive type anyway," Ayeka taunted at her silver-haired rival, starting up Ryoko's riles a little. "Had you been one to pay mind to things, demon woman, you would have noticed by now that, among other things, Lord Tenchi has absolutely no romantic interest in you, and if anyone would ever have the chance to take him away from that hussy product of the horrible child, then it shall be me."

"Stop speaking through your false teeth, grandma!" Ryoko snapped, getting in Ayeka's face and startling her. "For your information, I do know Tenchi's in love with Sakuya, and that he doesn't have that kind of interest in me. But it doesn't stop me from loving him or being friends with her! Unlike you, who happens to be blind and jealous enough to think you still have a chance."

"What?" Ayeka shrieked at the notion that her shot could ever be over. "Ryoko, you'd better take that back! I am the First Crowned Princess of Jurai! Anything I desire can be mine!"

"Sorry, Princess. Not happening," Ryoko declined, after which she calmly walked away to the window and turned to Kiyone. "Control the spoiled brat here, I'm going to Mount Paoz." She then flew off, after which Ayeka finally got up off her sofa, only to shout that Ryoko had better get away and not come back unless she wants to take a beating. Ryoko merely chuckled as she flew, but that was before she passed the waters in front of the house and suddenly looked over in the direction of the shrine. She saw that someone was walking up the steps to the shrine, and had a very difficult time making out exactly who it was. Ryoko then decided to fly in the direction of the shrine, careful to hide behind the rocks and bushes next to the steps, not wanting to get caught and embarrassed by the person. Taking a close look, she recognized the short, dark hair, with the ponytail in the back, and pretty much immediately knew who it was. _Tenchi!_ The joy of seeing him with no scars, and walking towards the shrine office to meet and train with his grandfather, showed her that he was indeed all well. But wait! She noticed something peculiar about this as well. Tenchi's still wearing his Jurai battle suit! He hasn't removed it yet! What's the deal with him?

Meanwhile, Katsuhito was already waiting for his grandson at the top of the giant stairway. As Tenchi continued walking up the stairs, Ryoko switched from side to side while keeping close each time Tenchi went up a few steps. This pattern continued until he realized something and stopped. He then turned with a smile on his face and looked over in the direction where Ryoko was. Thinking that maybe it was just coincidence but still fearing that he saw her somewhat, Ryoko stayed in her place and didn't make any sudden moves.

"You can come out of there now," he spoke seemingly out of nowhere, his voice sounding more mature, as if he had gone through a reawakening, a year, and a humbling experience all at once, while still having that peaceful and caring aura to it. Ryoko was shocked and warmed by the sound of Tenchi's voice, as she had missed it for most of an entire day, making it seem so much better to her. She found the courage to get up from underneath the rocks, looking at him as her eyes blinked several times a second. Finally, Ryoko screamed out his name as she dove towards him in order to tackle him in a big "I've missed you" hug. He managed to run all the way up the staircase before she caught him and gave him said hug. But this time, didn't beg off or completely get crushed underneath her tight embrace as he usually would, in part because of the protecting effect of his battle suit… but in part because of something more. He was able to get up after a while of her childishly celebrating his return while practically bear hugging him on the ground, following which he shared an innocent laugh with her. Katsuhito shook his head as he looked at them, perhaps now convinced that there wasn't much of a change in Tenchi's demeanor when it comes to dealing with the girls.

"Grandpa, I came over here first thing so I could train with you for awhile. I want you to see exactly what I can do, even though not in full," Tenchi declared as he turned to his grandfather, surprising the formerly noted Crowned Prince of Jurai as he was not the type to initiate training sessions. This was especially true since he didn't feel like taking the idea of fighting his grandfather for practice very seriously, and ended up getting squashed every time. It was then that he pressed the button on a ring he had on one of his fingers, which took down the battle suit, as well as the Jurai warrior markings that were on his face, and saw him in his usual training gi.

"Should I leave?" Ryoko asked, seeing as how this moment was probably going to bore her or see her get struck by accident or something. When she received no answer for her vocal efforts, she began to walk downstairs, when she heard a sudden instruction of "Wait!" come from Tenchi. At that she turned around, but did not retrace those four steps she had taken just yet. When he shook his head with a smile on his face, she knew his answer to her question and, though surprised, gladly accorded. She was welcome to at least stay and watch. Now having figured that out, the seed of Washu's power followed Tenchi and Katsuhito all the way to their usual training ground in the woods up high. Strangely enough, Katsuhito hadn't brought his bokken to use for this occasion. Why this was the case, she was unsure. But then again, something came to her that she had forgotten immediately after seeing Tenchi.

_Wait a minute… didn't Raditz go over to Goku's house because he noticed Gohan vs. Cell? I was supposed to go over there! What the heck am I doing here?_ she asked herself. Tenchi and Katsuhito heard the gasp that she gave as those words penetrated her head, and looked at her in casual concern.

"Hey Ryoko, are you okay?"

"I just remembered something. When I came out, I was on my way to Goku's, because a few minutes back, I saw Raditz flying out the living room window claiming he could sense that Gohan was fighting Cell," she finally explained. "It was just by luck that I ended up seeing you walking up the shrine steps, and then after I got close enough, it didn't take me that long to figure that it was you."

"Wait a minute, Gohan and I just got out of the Room of Spirit and Time a couple of hours ago. He's already gotten into a fight with Cell?" Tenchi almost jumped in reply.

"If Raditz is telling the truth, then yeah," Ryoko answered, before turning to her right. "I should be going that way, that's why I flew out here in the first place. Why am I still here?" She then turned back around, and realized her answer. "Oh, yeah. Because I miss you, Tenchi."

"Speaking of people who miss me, how's Sakuya doing?" Tenchi asked, getting very attentive. He wanted to know how his girlfriend was doing.

"Apparently, Goku comforted her pretty darn well. She was worried, but I don't see any trace of any nightmares around her. On the other hand, Ayeka's moping self couldn't help but be worried sick about you," Ryoko detailed, sending a relieved Tenchi into a chuckle. "I would have flown out of here sooner except I had to stop for a few minutes and shower because Mihoshi tripped on the stairs and dumped all of her dirty clothes on me, and there's no way I want to meet you or our new friends looking or smelling like a mess."

"Sounds like everything was still the same," Tenchi concluded from the words of his friend.

"Oh, yeah. Very much the same, even though I wouldn't say we didn't miss you," Ryoko said, ensuring that he understood that point. "And what the heck was that last part supposed to mean?

"Never mind," Tenchi said, hoping she would disregard the comment in question. To his relief, she did, enabling him to turn towards Katsuhito. "Now can we finally begin training?"

"Certainly," his grandfather replied, after which they both got into fighting stances. Both men immediately charged at one another, and Tenchi went for a leaping strike. However, Katsuhito managed to sidestep it, and went for a leg sweep on Tenchi. However, the young man managed to actually jump and escape the hit, after which he got a diving karate kick on his grandfather. Tenchi then ran for Katsuhito and hit him in the stomach several times, after which he fired the leg sweep, knocking down the old man. Katsuhito was actually impressed with his abilities, which made him needlessly stay down another two seconds, during which Tenchi prepared his next attack. Katsuhito then back-flipped himself up, which Tenchi anticipated as he charged at his grandfather and gave him a spinning kick to the side with his left leg, a roundhouse kick with his right leg, and an uppercut kick to the chin with his right leg, flipping Katsuhito backwards 270°. Katsuhito did manage to keep himself from falling flat on his stomach by using his hands and feet, which slid him back at least five yards as Tenchi charged at him again. However, this time, the grandpa was able to counter attack, hitting Tenchi with a high left knee and a kick to the chin with his right leg, sending back the Masaki shrine keeper a little bit, though he didn't fall down either. The two looked at each other smiling at this point, seeing that both of them were very skilled.

"I see you haven't lost all your skill worrying sick about me," Tenchi commended his grandfather, with what seemed to be a new competitive edge to him that hasn't been seen before.

"And I see you have become stronger as a warrior and as a man, just as was prophesized by the great warrior called Goku," Katsuhito also commended his grandson, after which he became the first of the two to exit a fighting stance. He then turned to Ryoko, seeing her stupefied gaze, and figured that she was wondering how was it possible that one day in a strange room could make Tenchi that much stronger even without weapons like swords or Lighthawk Wings. "We should continue this another time." At that, Ryoko snapped out of her overly impressed state and lightened up a bit.

"Hey, Tenchi. You wanna come with me to Goku's place?" Ryoko invited, finally ready to follow where Raditz was once again.

"Sure," Tenchi accepted, walking over to her.

"Well, then, hop on," Ryoko said, pointing to the back of her neck. Knowing that Tenchi couldn't fly and that she could, as well as the fact that she was actually strong enough to support his weight despite her light appearance, she expected him to accept the invitation. However, she would get a surprising response.

"Actually, I don't think I'm gonna need that," he said, before turning to the sky and calling, "Nimbus!" A few seconds later, they could make out the shape of a miniature yellow cloud flying on their level and leaving a small trail behind it. Finally, the cloud stopped, right in front of Tenchi. While Ryoko looked completely befuddled, Tenchi stayed smiling.

"Cool, huh? Gohan told me about this thing. You have to be pure of heart to ride it, though," Tenchi explained. Ryoko at first thought that maybe she could, but realized that she could never be completely pure of heart. Her penchant for mischief, misguided love for Tenchi, and her turbulent history were not very easy for her to get over. She never quite overcame how she was made artificially by Washu, although that girl can be very sweet as a mother, or the constant pillaging and death Kagato had forced her to bring unto the world whenever he didn't feel like doing it himself. Now he's back with partners to do it instead of slaves. And one of them was Nagi, a rival who up until now she respected, even though they didn't exactly like each other. Great. A sense of worry overcame Tenchi as he looked at Ryoko, with her eyes starting to well up, and her hands folded onto her chest. He then placed a hand on her shoulder, then told her that it was alright now. His comforting words did enough to tell her that she didn't need a cloud's judgment of her worth in order for her to know that deep down, she was a good person. Brushing off the tears that were in the midst of forming, Ryoko finally smiled again, and began to float into the air. Tenchi followed suit by hopping on the Nimbus cloud. Soon, both of them were taking off in the direction of the Son family home.

Meanwhile, over at Capsule Corporation, Bulma stepped outside, ready to go shopping, when she caught the sight of Eighteen walking over to her.

"Hi Eighteen. What are you doing here?" Bulma asked.

"Just wanted to stop by," the younger woman answered. "Have you heard anything about Marron from Master Roshi?"

"Actually, no. If Roshi had called my dad, he probably would have told me, but I haven't heard anything at all today," Bulma answered sadly, before quickly boosting her mood to a brighter subject. "I'm about to go shopping right now. Do you want to come with me, or would you rather go inside and see Vegeta and Trunks?"

"Easy. Vegeta might provoke me into another fight, and this time, I don't think I could wear him out," Eighteen joked, enjoying a slight chuckle with Bulma as she walked beside the greenish-haired genius woman. "So, I've been wondering. How's life with a couple of Super Saiyans?"

"It's not as hard as it would've been if I were Chichi," Bulma quipped ever so slightly. "I mean, Vegeta and I are exactly alike, except his strength is in fighting, and mine is in my brain. I think that's why we fit pretty well with each other, you know?"

"Yeah, but I can't really say the same for myself right now," Eighteen said sadly. She still missed Krillin deeply and regretted that she couldn't be there with him to make sure that nothing had happened to him when he picked up Yamcha back that day. But she managed to get her thoughts off that for the time being, because she had a more important thing to do than grieve helplessly. "Hey, the real reason I came over was because I wanted to talk to you about something," she suddenly revealed. Bulma instantly turned around, realizing that this was probably a more serious matter.

"What is it?" Bulma asked curiously, the quality of being there for her friend not absent from her. At this point, they were now on the sidewalk.

"Well, since you are the greatest genius of our realm," Eighteen started, "I'm just wondering what you and Washu are doing. I kept hearing in her lab last night, she was working on some sort of device which looked like a remote control, and she was apparently talking to you and your father about it as well."

"Oh, yeah. The Blutz Wave amplifier. It's a kind of device which will allow for an adjustment of Blutz Waves which will add to someone's energy output potential once it becomes depleted by the release of an attack of some sort. If this works, sacrificial attacks like the one which Vegeta destroyed himself with to get rid of Buu last time may not be so sacrificial after all, as long as Washu is able to use it on them right when they get on the attack."

"So, this device is something that's supposed to protect people from using up all their energy by restoring some of it in the middle of their attack or something?" Eighteen asked.

"Yeah," Bulma answered.

"What if the person goes for a sacrificial attack, and the device is used on them too early?" Eighteen asked again.

"That would be even before the attack, and if someone uses a sacrificial attack and uses all their energy, it would probably be more powerful, but it wouldn't save them at all," Bulma answered, her voice clearly detailing that she was beginning to get worried, especially when it came to Vegeta's sacrificial attack.

"And what if it's used too late?" Eighteen inquired even further.

"The person's energy would already be at zero," Bulma answered, after which she gasped, and a pang of "what if" fear and sadness tugged at her sharply at this point, causing her to stop and put both of her hands against her chest, awakening a reaction of fear and distress similar to the one that had just befallen Ryoko unbeknownst to her. "Just like Vegeta was when he turned into stone."

"I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have talked about that. But I'm wondering, too, about something else," Eighteen disclosed once more, snapping Bulma out of her temporary distress mode. "It's about some wishes from before. Remember when they asked for everyone that was ever killed by Cell to come back to life, and we couldn't sense Seventeen anywhere?"

"Yeah. I remember that. But where are you getting at?" a confused Bulma asked. She probably could have figured that out right now, but wanted to further confirm what she was thinking.

"I was thinking about that last night, when Ryoko was already asleep," Eighteen began to explain. "At first, I remember we had all assumed that it just meant that Seventeen just simply wasn't brought back. But when I was thinking about it, I remembered. He never got ejected by Cell. In fact, he was killed as part of Cell while getting absorbed by him. This is actually significant in two ways. One, it means that if he was revived by that wish from Krillin and the others, it would have been at that battleground, not up at the lookout, for that's where he was killed as part of Cell. Two, Cell's absorbing him basically led to his death, which could count as him getting killed by Cell. Also, we couldn't sense Seventeen whether or not he was alive because he doesn't have any humanly detectable ki signature, so it would be impossible to tell from that regard."

"Whoa, you're right," Bulma realized, almost growing speechless in the moment. "Hey, you're not saying that-"

"And that wish that brought everything back after Kid Buu destroyed the planet. Vegeta wished every good person on the planet back to life, right? Well, from what I know, Seventeen wasn't evil, just a rebel without a cause. And we hadn't heard anything of him killing anyone or destroying anything over either those seven years or this year and a half. I think that pretty much counts him as a good guy, and maybe he was brought back both times and we didn't even know it. My brother might actually still be alive after all!"

"You know, Eighteen, I think you're actually pretty right about that!" Bulma realized, as an idealistic light just came on her face. But that quickly subsided, as a deeper logic hit her about it. "But because we can't sense his ki, how would we find him? And if he's alive, why hasn't he tried to find you or any of us?" That question immediately snapped Eighteen back to reality, as in the midst of her circumstantial logic, she had failed to mention to herself or to Bulma that Seventeen was not a guy who liked solitude and boredom. Unless he found himself a new life of some kind, under which it would be completely pointless to try coming out, then there was no sense in him hiding… was there?

"Honestly, I don't know," was the admission she made. "Forget I talked about this. Finding him would probably be impossible anyway. It's a bad subject to talk about." Although she knew this deep down inside, Eighteen couldn't avoid talking about it, or wondering "what if" in the first place. Seventeen was her twin brother, and she missed him dearly. She wished he could have been there to witness Krillin and how much he cared for her. It would have been fun to hear Seventeen's comical teasing the whole while as she had grown closer and closer to Krillin over the first few of those seven years between Cell and Buu. Unbeknownst to them, the all-seeing eye of the universe was at work once again: hiding behind a bush near the home known as Capsule Corp, he had listened to the entire conversation.

_Hmm… I wonder… Oh, well. That's something to worry about later._ With that, he sped away from that part of the zone at his usual seemingly supersonic rate.

Meanwhile, over at the house of the Sons, Raditz was already speaking to Goku and Chichi outside.

"So, you have made friends with the Masakis, huh?" Goku asked, patting Raditz's shoulder several times. An irritated scowl and grunt came from Raditz at that notion.

"Don't touch that," he soon shot. It was unclear whether he was talking about the big brown shoulder guard piece to his armored uniform or the subject of his acclimation into the Masaki household.

"Geez, you don't have to be ashamed of making friends of all things," Chichi said, condescending of Raditz' stubborn refusal to openly discuss his friendship matters.

"Maybe it's because it's not something I'm exactly used to doing, especially since Nappa didn't convince Vegeta to revive me, instead opting to bully me around once he ended up in the same place as me," Raditz reminded them. "Cell might be the main one, but Nappa started the whole thing. I was happy to obliterate him once I became a Super Saiyan. In fact, that was my first order of business."

"Alright, you told me that something made you take awhile before you sensed the fight and came here," Goku remembered, surprising Raditz. "What exactly was that?"

"I got disconcentrated helping Ayeka get over her worrying about Tenchi. Surprisingly, Sakuya's worry was masked and highly depleted by the confidence you gave her, while her encouragement from last night failed to keep Ayeka as herself for long," Raditz detailed, something about his statement catching Chichi's attention

"Wait a minute, you spent time talking to Ayeka?" Chichi asked in complete surprise, due to what she would say next. "From what I've seen, she's got "pompous princess" written all over her. She continues to battle for Tenchi, and she actually thinks she's gonna be able to take him away from Sakuya. I didn't think a guy like you could even think about talking to her."

"You could also say the same about Ryoko," Raditz added, which seemed somewhat defensively. It should also be noted that whilst saying that, he closed his eyes and slightly turned his head away from them.

"Wait a minute… you really are changing," Goku finally observed, the word "finally" being put in there because it seemed as if he had just completely noticed that for the first time.

"No, I'm not," the elder of the two brothers denied swiftly, still with his head turned away and his eyes closed. He was also beginning to irritably shake. "I'm still the same old, cold-blooded Raditz you knew when Gohan was four years old."

"Then explain why you haven't kidnapped or destroyed any of us yet," Goku challenged in a daring tone, a knowing smirk coming onto his face.

"I don't have any need or reason to do that right now," Raditz explained matter-of-factly.

"Never stopped you before," Goku said in that same tone as before. Then, they heard the sound of a helicopter coming by.

"Huh?" all three of them sounded off as they looked up, seeing that it was Videl's jet copter. They could see her waving to them from inside as she stopped the copter's forward motion and set it down to land, which only Goku and Chichi received with smiles, Raditz opting not to become quite as friendly with Kakarot's projected future daughter-in-law. As it finally touched down, Videl stopped her jet copter's engine, after which the door opened and she entered, running over to the three.

"Hi, everyone!" she cheerfully greeted.

"Hey, Videl!" Goku greeted back, the same usual glee appearing in his voice again. Chichi echoed her husband's statement as Raditz added his own, albeit nonchalant, "hi".

"Has Gohan come back yet?" Videl immediately asked.

"Yeah, he has. In fact, he actually did just after Cell arrived to pick a fight with us. He's inside," Goku explained. Videl jumped at the news of the fight with Cell and immediately ran into the house, where she instantly ran into Gohan at the front door and ended up tackling him down by mistake. She finally looked to see that it was him she ran into, and a smile came on her face.

"Gohan!" she called in glee that he was alright, hugging up close to him on the floor as the two laughed at the somewhat hilarious scene, and at seeing each other. After that time, she finally allowed herself to get back up, following which he did so.

"So, how's home?" Gohan asked.

"You had to ask? Boring," Videl answered, crossing her arms and closing her eyes in irritation at that. "But hey, let's tack onto a much more important issue. You know, like what exactly happened in that time room, how much stronger did you and Tenchi get, and what in the world were you doing getting into a fight with Cell before talking to anyone here?"

"Easy. I just came here, and there he was, fighting with my dad and Goten," he replied unworriedly, though this only explained one part of her question. "As for the training with Tenchi, let's just say it was a long story, and it would be much better explained by all four of us at once."

"All three?" Videl asked, confused.

"Me, Tenchi, and the Supreme Kais," Gohan answered. Videl's face now grew that suspicious tomboy detective look it used to always have about Gohan, as she remembered Gohan telling Kibitoshin to get the Old Kai on the scene. That reminded her to ask: what did the Supreme Kais have to do with this? But before that could happen, they could hear Goku's voice calling, "Gohan! Videl! Ryoko and Tenchi are here!" At that, they immediately ran outside, and saw that a little far off in the distance, Tenchi and Ryoko were indeed walking over to Chichi, Goku and Raditz. But before they could deliver their own greetings, Ryoko suddenly teleported from walking alongside Tenchi to going right in front of the two youngsters.

"Hey!" she greeted cheerfully as soon as she appeared, startling them a little before regaining their composure.

"Hey, Ryoko, what's up?" Gohan asked in return, being first to get over that surprise tactic.

"I saw Raditz flying over here. So, you were fighting Cell?" she asked.

"Yeah. He was really tough. Stronger than I knew him to be before. Even with my Mystic power restored and enhanced, Goten fighting in full anger like I used to against guys like Frieza, and my dad at Super Saiyan 3, we still couldn't beat him," Gohan confessed, seriousness coming over him as he explained the end result to Ryoko. "Nagi was there too, but she wasn't fighting. She was hiding somewhere, until she came out to convince Cell to stop the fight."

"Wait, Nagi was there too?" Videl and Ryoko both asked simultaneously. Gohan nodded in reply, to which Ryoko reacted with anger starting to overcome her.

"Damnit! I really wanted to kill her!" she screamed in frustration. Shock didn't overcome anyone's face, for they all knew perfectly what would cause Ryoko to be convinced of the words that just came out of her mouth. Raditz turned to her with a smirk.

"Now you understand how I felt. I wanted to destroy Cell, but they had to let him get away," Raditz added with some measure of sympathy towards her, elbowing Goku in the arm in the midst of that statement.

"For once, somebody can relate to where you're coming from," Ryoko stated with her own smirk, though she would not make the unnecessary admission that the somebody she spoke of was herself. She looked at Raditz, and realized that she enjoyed the chemistry that she had with him. They had similar histories, were upset about pretty much the same things, shared similar ideas and thoughts, and easily bantered with one another when time came to. But there was something that struck her about this notion that really shook her as horribly wrong, and actually scared her a slight bit.

_Wait a minute. I'm completely devoted to Tenchi! And I have a pretty good idea why, too. He's the sweet, handsome guy without an arrogant bone in his body,_ she thought, realizing the strange and seemingly foreboding theme of irony that statement. _Meanwhile, this Raditz is so damn brash, he's cockier than everybody else I've met among our friends combined. I can't be noticing him! Unless…_ She gasped at the very conception of the concept she was about to speculate within herself.

_Could I actually be getting less interested in Tenchi? Is that even possible?_

Meanwhile, the Madri Scholar was now sitting atop a tree in the woods overlooking the scene, and had a final piece of analysis. "It's just like I told my friend at the shed. You'd have to be a fool not to notice a shift of hearts."

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Washu: "Finally, I, Washu Hakubi, the greatest scientific genius in the universe, have devised the perfect strategy to be able to beat Cell, Kagato, Nagi, and Garlic Jr."

-Bulma: "Can you please stop calling yourself the greatest scientist in the universe? I'm a little embarrassed to hear someone who looks like a 12-year-old crazy redhead child laying claim to that title."

-Vegeta: "True. But from what I hear, this effective energy device could serve me very well in case I have to lay it all on the line to defeat the plagues that have infested our planet with their presence."

-Washu: "I'm just impressed she complained calmly this time."

-Bulma: "What was that?"

-Garlic Jr.: "Our ship is completely prepared, giving us more of an advantage against all of Goku's friends, including that Tenchi boy that almost beat me. Next chapter on **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, one title says it all, as it's **Chapter 13: Major Planifications**."

-Kagato: "Yes, hell has relocated to earth."


	13. Major Planifications

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Grand Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: Truth be told, this chapter, I don't know what the hell I'm doing. Just kidding, I do know what I'm doing, I just happened to have a little bit of confusion in my head while trying to get it together. Come on, peeps. I'm not a dead man, but I'm not perfect.

Now, at first I decided to post this story here in the DBZ section due to my expectations of getting more of an audience and/or more of a response from it than if I had posted it in either the TM or Anime Crossovers section, but I just realized another positive quality of posting it over here. Thanks to the fact that I did it here, I don't have to hear the constant "alternate universe" talk from any and pretty much all reviewers about the fact that I'm using all three continuities of Tenchi Muyo (OAV, Universe, and Shin) rather than just one or two of them in the insert of the TM characters.

Oh, and this pen name change is a result of the admins' sudden decision to limit pen names to 30 characters. I gotta tell ya, "P. Dizzle tha Prime Legend Champion" really had much more of a rhythm to it. Which is why I dislike this idea.

**Chapter 13: Major Planifications.**

Out on that specific dark planet in space, the villains were discussing a certain idea that one of them had thrown out there. The idea was somewhat upsetting to Nagi, and the fact that Garlic Jr. had thrown it out didn't exactly help the situation. The heated discussion on this was done by Nagi and Garlic Jr. while in the background, Cell and Kagato were rebuilding the Souja.

"What makes you think I'm going to force my pet into this? He's suffered enough already! Why do you think I'm even here in the first place?" she argued, suggesting that this argument had something to do with Ken-Ohki which completely upset her right there.

"But Nagi, you have to understand. With Ken-Ohki's addition to Souja, we can easily become more powerful by the second!" Garlic Jr. argued in his own defense. Anyone would be convinced to go along with the plan with all its current elements involved, except for Nagi. And if any other element could take the place of a certain current element involved, then Nagi would have absolutely no qualms about allowing this one to happen.

"I don't care! If there's anything I still and always will have compassion about, it's why I care about no one and nothing else. Ken-Ohki's injuries are too great for him to be getting involved in any kind of fusion process," Nagi objected to the idea strongly, placing a hand on the light blue hilt of her whip, ready to get it out. "I don't want to kill you, because we need each other to get back at those so-called "heroes of the earth" that are the Z senshi and the Masaki clan, but if you bring up this idea one more time without a good reason, then I will kill you!"

"Okay, Nagi. Here's a good reason," Garlic Jr. began calmly, but with an undercutting tone which suggested that the next words would not be said with such a cool demeanor. "One reason you should seriously consider this and go for this is because… **Ken-Ohki should be in better condition by now and might be convicted to get in on this mission due to his suffering at the hands of Ryo-Ohki!**"

"Excuse me! What makes you think you're gonna convince me of your little plan by just saying that?" Nagi asked angrily, grabbing him by the collar of the pinkish white hood over his black robe. The subject of Ken-Ohki was one that she was deeply attached to. The mere idea of someone like Garlic Jr. putting Ken-Ohki's name in his mouth was something that completely upset her. He could see that with her slight tirade, but immediately slapped her hand off of him, then cleared his throat in preparation to deliver the explanation.

"Calm yourself down, Nagi, while I explain to you exactly where I'm coming from with this," Garlic Jr. began irritably, turning away from her and walking closer to where Cell and Kagato were rebuilding the parts of the Souja. "Now, as we both know, Ryo-Ohki ripped herself away from Ken-Ohki as the two of you came through the portal that warped the Dragon Ball and Muyo realms of the universe together. As a result, you and Ken-Ohki hit a coral reef and almost drowned, resulting in injuries that proved to be more lethal, and more than physical, for Ken-Ohki, who had to revert to his cabbit form and eject you as soon as you entered the planet's atmosphere in the middle of your semi-tragic fall. As a matter of fact, Ken-Ohki was severely hurt, both physically and in his heart, due to the feeling of abandonment at how Ryo-Ohki snapped away from him and left him in that horrible crash to die. Seeing the opportunity to gain an ally out of it, Cell rescued the two of you, and there the four of us discovered the full detail of yours and Ken-Ohki's plight. Thanks to our Black Water, you recovered finely enough and became one of the most supreme beings in the universe. Now, Ken-Ohki, on the other hand, could not reap a cent of those benefits. That is the most unfortunate part of all among each and every piece of this little drama. But there is a way we can help Ken-Ohki out."

"And by that, you mean now you're gonna turn him dark like me and assimilate him with the Souja?" Nagi asked, beginning to understand Garlic Jr.'s point, though she was still extremely skeptical about this whole idea of her pet cabbit being used as a power gain.

"Yes, of course. Now that you understand how much this helps him, I can help you understand the difference between exactly what you think I mean by "assimilate" and what I really mean," Garlic Jr. explained. "I don't mean the same kind of assimilation that occurred between our two realms, or any of these stupid fusion techniques. Ken-Ohki will be living inside the Souja, and will be connected to the ship's energy via a glass hemisphere atop a stone pillar, which he will be kept in. Don't worry, he will be able to breathe and be fed, and will occasionally be let out of the glass. While he's inside, though, the ship will change in appearance only slightly, but its capabilities will be enhanced dramatically. It will be the legendary fused ship, Ken-Souja. This is the only way Ken-Ohki will be able to relieve himself of the stress from the heartbreak he's suffered at the hands of Ryoko's cabbit. By letting Ryo-Ohki know how he felt through personal experience. I'd say this purpose would be his last remaining reason for living."

"Hmm… you do seem to have a point…" Nagi admitted as she pondered the subject with a hand under her chin. After a few seconds of thinking about it, she turned to Garlic Jr. with a face full of determination, being completely certain of her answer. "Bring me Ken-Ohki. I want to see him. If he's in fair enough condition, and he wants to do this, then we'll do this. No Black Water will be necessary. I want this to come from his heart." Garlic Jr. puffed out a small sigh of frustration as he thought about the answer.

_So, she does have a conscience after all when it comes to that pet of hers,_ was the conclusion that he finally came to. _No matter. I don't believe that it'll get in our way. There's no doubt in my mind that Ken-Ohki will want to do this based on exactly how he was injured in the first place._

Back at our mysterious wooden shed which was discovered in chapter 9, the mysterious brown-hooded person took something out of one of the pockets of his robe. It happened to be a capsule, which he pressed and threw down next to the wall, after which a puff of white smoke appeared. The smoke cleared to the sight of a refrigerator. The mystery figure opened the refrigerator and actually took a can of soda out of it. After closing the door, he opened the can and drank the soda, bit by bit enjoying the refreshment. Once finished, he completely crumbled up the can, threw it outside the only window the shed had, and let out a comfortable breath through his mouth. Now all done with the soda, he pressed a button on the front of the refrigerator which allowed it to return to its capsule form, then placed the capsule in his pocket. Finally, he sat down on the wall, doing a little bit of thinking.

_I hate being cramped up like this, but at least I have enough cool stuff to keep me occupied through these capsules. I hope I can remember to thank the Madri Scholar for this,_ he thought comfortably, choosing not to entertain himself with his portable video games just yet. _That weirdo can really make himself useful sometimes. And I have to admit, it is pretty funny hearing him complain all the time about being called a stalker. Except now, he's had to shove it aside over a much more serious problem. One which could completely destroy me, his plans, and pretty much everything._

Just then, the door to the shed opened, and in came a certain familiar-looking wizard.

"Hey, stalker. Good to see you're back from your voyeur job," the hooded figure greeted somewhat cleverly. The Madri Scholar grunted in reply.

"You're beginning to push it, Mysterio. Don't try me," he then warned irritably, with the grunt accompanying his voice with each word he spoke.

"Mysterio?" the hooded one asked in a slight haze of confusion which faded in two seconds. "I see. So you came up with a clever nickname so that you wouldn't have to address me by my real identity. Guess you got tired of the namelessness system after all."

"I guess I did," the Scholar admitted unemotionally. "Now, I have plenty of information that you'd like to listen in on. Go ahead and tell me what you'd rather I get to first?"

"How about the training? How much stronger did Tenchi and Gohan get?" the one nicknamed Mysterio asked.

"Well, Gohan's Mystic power has returned thanks to the Rou Dai Kaioshin, if that's any relief," the Madri Scholar began. "But he still doesn't possess the ability to defeat Cell, at least not when just waking up in the morning."

"Crap! Now I have to get out there eventually!" the hooded one yelled, pounding the wooden floor with the side of his clenched right fist.

"There's absolutely no need to rush the process, however. I will tell you this much, they have gotten much stronger," the Madri Scholar continued hastily in an attempt to reassure his frustrated hidden ally. "If anything, I believe that Gohan and Tenchi both have a significantly higher chance of saving this world than they or mostly anyone else did before their training. We are going to be perfectly fine for the time being. Also, the shift of hearts is becoming even more clear than it was in the past. But the most interesting information, I would like to explain, was something that happened basically just outside Capsule Corp when Bulma was supposed to go shopping."

"What could be so interesting about a shopping trip, of all things?" the Mysterio asked unbelievingly as he bowed his head in shame. He was as confused as he was bored with that concept. A shopping trip? Interesting? You'd be hard pressed to find any way to combine that action to that adjective.

"Right when she went outside the house, she ran into Eighteen," the Madri Scholar finally answered. At that, the figure's mood changed some.

"Eighteen?" the hooded one repeated for confirmation, his head slowly rising and turning to look at the Madri Scholar.

"Yes. Eighteen," the Madri Scholar repeated once again, before clearing his throat to get on with the next part of this conversation. "Now, Eighteen and Bulma discussed a couple of things. One, Bulma seems to be working with Dr. Briefs and Washu on a some kind of device meant to restore someone's energy before it runs out. If all goes well, it will be capable of taking "sacrificial" out of sacrificial attacks while not taking any of their power away from them. One specific example: Vegeta's Final Explosion, via which he turned to stone and died. If the device is used correctly during a Final Explosion, he will not turn to stone and die."

"That's good news. Now we have one more asset to the destruction of the dark allies," the hooded one finally said. "Now, wasn't there something else?"

"Yes. Eighteen and Bulma, moreso Eighteen, speculated the possibility of a certain someone being alive," the Madri Scholar detailed vaguely, though in this case, extensive detail was not a very necessary tool.

"Let me guess: Android Seventeen," the mystery man in brown interrupted hastily.

"Exactly. I'd ask how you know, but then you'd call me stupid. And seeing as how you have the nerve already to call me a stalker and to cut me off, I don't think I could tolerate that without becoming a serious spoiler," the Scholar kindly, but certainly, warned the hidden figure, before turning and beginning to leave. However, he stopped himself right at the door before continuing with a nice little quip: "By the way, Mysterio: are you sure you don't want me to tell _someone_ about you? Like, perhaps… Kiyone?"

"No! And that Mysterio nickname is already starting to get annoying!" the hooded figure shouted, currently thinking about how bothersome this Madri Scholar was. After a light laugh, the Scholar finally left, and in this case, left his pal in peace, being sure to close the door behind him. The one branded Mysterio then gave a serious wonder to a non-serious question, probably to pass the time, since he still didn't want to get to the video games just yet: _Is it against the law to say someone looks cute without getting bothered all over the place, especially from some guy that spies on the universe for a living and dresses like a damn priest for mutant gods or something?_

While Mysterio gladly ponders that question, whoever he is, we return to the Son home. At this point, Chichi is already starting to cook something delicious, while Goku sits with Raditz, Tenchi, and Ryoko (interesting combination, eh?) at the table for a little discussion.

"So, you're quite a few centuries old, huh?" Goku asked.

"Only two thousand years," Ryoko answered plainly. Chichi's eyes bulged out of socket and she nearly dropped her knife and the onions in her hand as a result of her complete disbelief at hearing that piece of information.

" "Only?" That's two thousand years! How could you be so old and yet look so young? How are you even alive for two thousand years?" she finally yelled, expressing that disbelief clearly as she turned to Ryoko.

"Well, my count's in standard galactic years, and I'm not exactly a human being, so I guess we can start there," Ryoko replied coolly, leaning back against the chair ever so slightly. "And… I'm guessing you guys are not that old, right?"

"Couldn't be more correct," Raditz replied, with his arms folded underneath the table.

"I didn't ask for your answer. I already know about you and Tenchi," Ryoko quickly retorted, sending a ticked off expression onto the features of Raditz.

"Well, you could tell from me that they're not!" he countered angrily. "Saiyans, such as Kakarot and myself, do retain our youth longer so that we can fight longer. I will guarantee you that much. But we still would barely stave off death after a hundred years! By no means do we live to be one full thousand years old, let alone your two thousand!" (actually, it's five thousand, but she likes to say it's "only" two thousand years, probably because that discounts a lot of the time she spent under Kagato and/or those seven hundred years during which she was sealed in the cave)

"Whoa, you guys! Calm down! Do you want to start a fight here?" Tenchi cut in, being the ever-responsible one. This was usually his stance, but the year in training at the Room of Spirit and Time had matured him as well as strengthened him quite a bit. This time, there was enough command in his voice for both of them to actually listen to him. Now, with Ryoko and Ayeka, it worked _half_ the time, since they were both in love with him, but this time, Ryoko was fighting with Raditz, who a) is a man, b) is straight, and c) despite a and b, can't seem to fall in love with anyone or anything. That being noted, a realization sparked within Tenchi, as he now began to understand the exact payoff of his training with Gohan. Seemingly looking through everything and at himself, the shocked Tenchi saw the true extent of his power for the first time. Goku noticed Tenchi looking at himself and smiled, knowing exactly what the boy just realized.

Gohan and Videl were now in the jet copter, heading in the direction of West City. Over the last few minutes, Gohan was basically inactive and patiently waiting whilst Videl spoke to Kiyone on her cellular phone. Among other things, they talked about what was going on at home, an internal wish that Nagi hadn't gone to the dark side, and the relief that Kiyone and Mihoshi didn't have to go on patrol in space anymore due to the situation with the four villains. The only thing of significant relevance as to why Videl was going back to West City, specifically to Capsule Corp, was the sudden disclosure by Kiyone that Washu seemed to be even more trapped in the closet than usual, and seemed to have been speaking to Bulma and Dr. Briefs whilst working on something important inside. Immediately realizing the sudden click between the scientist trio, Videl had become curious as to what exactly they were up to, and hopefully she could get some answers from Capsule Corp.

"Hey, Videl. Why didn't Mr. Satan or Majin Buu come with you?" Gohan asked as soon as the question just coming into his head.

"My dad's busy raising the hope of the world, and you know Buu's got no reason to stop tagging along behind him," Videl replied, a hint of annoyance coming through in her voice. "Sometimes it gets so sickening the way he does that. It's like he's a professional wrestler with the whole world as his ring and everyone buying into his character. You're lucky, Gohan. Your dad's the real world's strongest man, and he doesn't even have to deal with the limelight, let alone absorb it and become such an egomaniac."

"I see. But then again, I should've figured that was the reason. Have you heard anything from Erasa and Sharpner?" he asked, finally getting to the topic of their high school friends.

"How do you keep forgetting this? I hear from Erasa all the time. I stay home every night, and when we don't see each other during the day, she calls me to tell me what's up," Videl reminded him, and from the sounds of it, probably for the umpteenth time, before finally getting on with the information. "Anyway, it turns out they still haven't stopped partying. Yesterday, she told me they were planning a beach trip. She asked if you and I could show up, but unfortunately…"

"Yeah. We're busy," Gohan chuckled, easily predicting what she was going to say. This came from not only knowing her well, but also from having common sense enough to know exactly what to say in that situation. There's no way any of them would dare bring themselves to explain to any ordinary human outsider the exact truth of what had been going on. How would he say it? Guess what, we found some more alien people from another realm, Cell's back, and he's brought three of his friends with him, and they're making life miserable for us and if we don't kill him, you're next? That wouldn't exactly be the best news in terms of any kind of peace or believability. So, a simple "we're busy", or "we're caught up in some stuff", would have to do.

It was only a few minutes from this point when Videl flew the jet copter onto the front yard of the Capsule Corp property. Both Gohan and Videl got off, and then Videl pressed something on the door that turned it back into its capsule form. Once that was finished, the couple walked in the direction of the glass double door that served as the entrance way to the Vegeta-Briefs family's humble home and business place, Capsule Corporation. After a brief spell of knocking on the door, it finally opened, and before them stood a smiling young Trunks.

"Hey, what's up guys?" he asked, the two visitors before him smiling.

"Actually, we wanted to see your mom about something," Gohan revealed. Trunks raised his eyebrows in questioning at first, but then smiled again, getting the picture.

"Let me guess: someone told you about the device?" Trunks immediately suspected.

"Actually, it was Kiyone. And seeing as how that redhead genius Washu locks herself up all the time, going there wouldn't exactly give us any answers. If that wasn't the case, we'd already have all the information from Kiyone, and there'd be no need to even come here," Videl explained/complained, before getting an idea. "Hey, you know about the device, don't you?"

"Yeah. I think it's supposed to be something that manipulates your energy so that you can survive better after doing a big attack. My mom seems really optimistic about it. They think that with it, my dad can use that attack he did when he blew himself up to try and kill Majin Buu back when Buu was being controlled by that wizard guy, and actually not blow himself up."

"What?" the couple before him jumped in surprise. "How exactly are they doing this?"

"I don't know exactly, but I think it has to do with something called Blunt Waves or Brutes Waves or something," Trunks explained, not having heard enough of that specific name to get it right. "Anyway, I know how good my mom and grandpa are with science and technology and stuff. If Washu's really as great as she says she is, and she's working with them, we're gonna whoop all four of those bad guys for sure! (realizes they're still outside the door) Hey, if you guys want to come in…"

"Oh, yeah. Thanks," Gohan acknowledged just before coming in, him and Videl having forgotten about that concept earlier. "Where's Vegeta?"

"Inside our own personal park," Trunks said, referring to the open area where the group had their little reunion party back shortly after the end of Kid Buu. "You know where it is already, right?"

"Yeah," Gohan answered, starting to walk.

Meanwhile, inside the aforementioned in-house garden/park/arboretum at Capsule Corp, Vegeta was sitting down, leaning on one of the trees there in contemplation of something.

_Was that Kakarot and the Son boys I sensed, fighting Cell just a few hours ago? But instead of two of the three powers, only one of them was a power that would have been a walk in the park for Cell,_ he noted, before remembering the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and the Supreme Kais. That's when it hit him, exactly what had happened. _Wait a minute, the Kais were there! I know what must have happened! Gohan must have become significantly stronger since the reawakening of his power, and once again training inside the Time Chamber!_ "Huh?"

It was just at that moment that he heard the door into this area open, and a certain familiar voice calling his name. As soon as he got that piece of information, Vegeta stood up and called out that he was right here, making himself known. Gohan and Videl were able to follow the voice and get to the tree where Vegeta was sitting.

"Hey, Vegeta. Nice to see ya," Gohan greeted, which for some reason caused Vegeta to grow in shock. He saw that Gohan was in an outfit the same as the Supreme Kais' wear, and that there were a few marks left over, apparently from the fight with Cell.

"Did you just fight Cell a couple of hours back? How are you not seriously hurt?" Vegeta asked, total bewilderment and confusion forcing his eyes narrow, his voice hoarse, and the rest of him frozen. Seeing him up close, the Saiyan Prince finally realized the exact measure of Gohan's growth in power. _The extent to which he's gotten stronger is completely unbelievable! He's almost just like a Super Saiyan 3! And Cell is powerful enough to survive against that, plus Kakarot, and even with a touch of Goten?_

Meanwhile, back to where we began this chapter, with an unloading of Nagi and Garlic Jr.'s argument about whether or not Ken-Ohki was to be merged in with the Souja. Now, the Souja was almost fully complete once again, evident in Kagato's mood, which was beginning to go from a confident calm and slowly delving into a gloat of pride. But there was still the matter of Ken-Ohki, who was recovering from his injuries on the Earth's moon, of all places, until Garlic Jr. got Cell to take a second just to get him a few minutes ago. Now, Nagi had Ken-Ohki cradled up in her arms, and looked to her pet cabbit, seeing that he has indeed recovered well, though not fully, from his injuries.

"Hey, Ken-Ohki. I need to know if you want to help me get back at Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki for what they did-"

"Chou," the cabbit impatiently replied, saying the only word it can actually say aloud. However, owning him for so long she finally understood the cabbit, Nagi knew what he was actually thinking. He wanted at that heartbreaking crippling bitch Ryo-Ohki, and he wanted to get back at her badly. But Nagi was still not sure he knew exactly what he was up for.

"You do understand that means you'll have to be living in Kagato's ship, and give it power instead of working anything yourself, right?" Nagi asked Ken-Ohki, again wanting to be absolutely sure that she wasn't forcing him into war.

"Chou!" the cabbit once again replied impatiently, his voice obviously telling her that he was in for this.

"And this isn't some tiny little bounty hunting mission. You're gonna have to help us kill every single one of the Z senshi, and every member of the Masaki clan, as well as basically anyone else we'll need you to do in. Are you still up for it, Ken-Ohki?"

"Chou!" the cabbit shouted once again. Nagi put on a confident and evil-seeming smirk on her face, then looked to Garlic Jr.

"He's ready," she uttered, extending her hands towards Garlic Jr. for him to take Ken-Ohki, a gesture to which he gladly accorded.

It was almost as soon as those words were uttered that Cell and Kagato has finally gotten to reinstalling the tail end of the Souja. At this point, it was now complete. Kagato heard the conversation that was going on as well, as the darkest of smirks began to develop on the face of the clerically dressed snakelike scientist of darkness.

"Now, this! This is glorious!" Cell shouted, gloating about the accomplishment himself, though he had no real idea what this ship could do. It just looked like something truly special, with which they would be able to completely do away with the planet Earth, all their enemies, and the rest of the universe. And Kagato, with his dark smirk applied, knew that it was only going to get better than this. He would no longer be just inside the Souja. Now that Ken-Ohki has willingly accepted the invitation to continue standing alongside Nagi, and to aid the four by merging his power into the ship, the four would be within the ultimate fighting ship, the Ken-Souja. Nobody and nothing are the only things that could stand in their way now. And it was with that dark smirk that he made a final prophecy. A poetic reality, if nothing else.

"Embrace the darkness, and relish in the unearthly delight pain has to offer. Resistance is futile, and whether or not it is attempted, there are no limits to the pain your universe has now subjected itself to. Try and fight against it or not, it will tear your soul apart, and your entire world right behind it. For we are the reapers of men, the changers of souls, the weavers of nightmares… and the ultimate heart of darkness. And we now and ever will be the purity of evil. The hell you were threatened with is no longer an option. It is a reality… a living, breathing, conscious reality, and you are all oblivious to the fact that you are standing right in its midst. Yes, hell has relocated to earth."

A sinister laugh of dastardly proportions echoed across this part of the universe for the next few minutes, as the prophecy was prepared for fulfillment.

Skipping the rest of the day, we head to a certain discovery that had been made overnight at the Masaki house. Beyond the closet door right underneath the staircase to the second floor nearest the front door of the house… was the multidimensional laboratory of Washu Hakubi, perhaps the greatest genius in the entire animated universe. However, she wasn't alone. Alongside her stood Bulma Briefs, and her father, the good doctor himself, both of which have also been critically acclaimed as well. In Washu's hand was a remote control of some sort with an antenna up top and a distinct red button around it. In front of them was Vegeta, who was actually in a transparent container designed by Washu to keep Vegeta's sheer burst of power from destroying the lab, with all of its ultra sensitive scientific equipment. Vegeta was currently releasing all the power he had built up in order to transform into a Super Saiyan. The box was having its desired effect, keeping Vegeta's power from doing any damage at all. As this was going on, Bulma and her father made commentary.

"Well, this seems to be quite a fine project we've accomplished here. Let's just hope Vegeta can honestly say that he has reacquired all the energy he spent up transforming," Dr. Briefs spoke, giving in his own two cents. "We did get the Blutz wavelength frequency just right."

"I know for a fact this'll work, because if it doesn't, there's no way I'm letting Vegeta use that sacrifice attack of his. If Washu, with our help, can't get this right, then no one can, and we might as well give up," Bulma added, with full confidence in her advice, and even Washu's abilities. "I don't like this 12-year-old-looking kid saying she's smarter than me, but I have to admit, her idea was kind of impressive."

"Stop talking like I'm not here. I can hear you. And I'm trying to pay attention to Vegeta so I can get this right," Washu explained irritably as she turned around for the moments she was saying this, stopping the father and daughter conversation altogether. It was right at this point that the area actually began to shape. Right then, Washu and both of the Briefs scientists all knew that the container was not holding up. Vegeta was starting to go Super Saiyan 2 in a loud channeling of his strength, which would have destroyed the entire lab without the following utterance from Washu.

"Vegeta, stop!" she quickly ordered the Prince of all Saiyans at that point, following which he finally did so. After that, he kicked the big glass box wide open and stepped out.

"Hit it!" Bulma shot commandingly as she pointed to Vegeta, following which Washu finally pressed the noticeable red button in the center. As she did so, an electric blast suddenly shot out of the antenna and hit Vegeta. Upon seeing this, Bulma half expected him to scream in intense pain from either getting the wrong wavelength or the device being incompetent. However, to that small piece of her's surprise, it worked out perfectly. As Vegeta was getting zapped with the electricity, he was actually smirking, and visibly unaffected by it. Soon afterwards, the device completely stopped zapping him all by itself, even with Washu's thumb still on the noticeable red button, telling her that it had done its job.

"What the deal? Why'd it stop? Is that all it could do, is that all it needed to?" Bulma asked, beginning to get a little anxious to learn the results.

"Apparently, that's all it needed to do. I've completely regained all the energy that it had taken for me to transform like that," Vegeta revealed, answering the question for Washu and everyone else before the redhead genius could.

"All right! Way to go us!" Bulma shot in jubilation, a vibrant smile coming on her face. Vegeta echoed that sentiment with a small celebrative laugh of his own and a thumbs up to the scientists.

_I said I wouldn't be the guinea pig for this,_ he thought, _but now I'm actually glad Bulma talked me into this! As long as Washu here doesn't lose her touch, I should be able to sacrifice myself with Final Explosion and completely destroy Cell and the rest of those stains, and not be sacrificing myself at all! It'll be the ultimate display of Saiyan power, as well as of my greatness!_

"Excellent!" Dr. Briefs subtly described the accomplishment, clapping his hands while at it. His black cat on his shoulder threw a smile onto its face

"Ha ha, yes!" Washu shouted to the world. _I'm the greatest scientist in the entire universe after all! And thanks to me, sacrifice is no longer sacrifice! Not only will this go over well with the Science Academy in Jurai, but Kagato and the rest of those unholy allies are done for! And it's all because of Vegeta, Bulma, and Dr. Briefs, but most importantly, me!_

That night, following the return home, Vegeta and Bulma slept with a great refreshment of happiness that hadn't been felt since before the discovery of Krillin and Yamcha's deaths.

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Vegeta: "So, now you decide to show your face to me. Glad to know you've finally accepted the universal fate of darkness."

-Nagi: "The universal fate of darkness? Mind explaining that?"

-Vegeta: "Actually, it's quite simple! You turned from someone I could have respected into someone whose mere presence pisses me off! Nagi the bounty hunter, that translates to death at the hands of a Super Saiyan! And I'm taking the chance that it might as well be me who destroys you!"

-Nagi: "Tch! Please. Last time you fought a woman, she completely kicked you around."

-Vegeta: "You forget she's the semi-android whose husband you stabbed to death with that golden sword of yours, so she probably has the power and emotions to kick you around as well, but let's leave the task for me. We'll do that via the next part of **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, in which I teach a certain honorable bounty hunter turned murderer a serious lesson in respect in **Chapter 14: The True Definition of Saiyan Pride**. I am the Prince of all Saiyans once again!"


	14. The True Definition of Saiyan Pride

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Grand Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE:

**Chapter 14: The True Definition of Saiyan Pride.**

The Souja is one enormous piece of work. It is a battleship, and once it is flown between the moon and the earth, it will be most heavily noticed, and unable to be ignored by any of the Masaki clan members or Z warriors that happen to notice it Kagato most likely helped Washu with the creation of this magnificent piece of work. Then, after his kidnapping of Washu, the King Cobra used the ship as his base of operations for almost 5,000 years. Some of the most famous areas of the Souja are its chapel, hallway, waiting area, and "reverse world", though you can definitely notice the Souja via its exterior.

Now, the exterior of the Souja has a very interesting look to it. In case it hasn't been noted before, it looks like a giant cobra with gills the size of its body. It may seem kind of humorous for some, but it still makes for a cool effect. Underneath the "gills" is the main cannon of the Souja. The cannon's blasts have a ton of power behind them, so for any fool who Kagato may select as the target of the shot, or who get in the way, the best hope is to pray for a miracle… or actually be/be assisted by something like Kid Buu or a supremely powerful Super Saiyan that absolutely cannot be held back by anyone or anything. And that… actually, that no longer exists anywhere. The Souja is crowned at the top by a strange red ornament, that has no practical purpose for its existence, except for its resemblance to snake fangs.

As Ryoko, Ayeka, and Mihoshi found out way back during the first confrontation rematch on the Souja, when they blasted their way through the halls of the ship, the halls have homemade security guards rather than hired guns, in the form of gigantic robotic heads that have five laser cannons in their mouths. Though some may say they look funny, they are prepared to blast any intruders whenever necessary. All the halls lead to the waiting room, where people wait to be received by the lord of the Souja. There are two doors to either side of the room. One door peels apart the stone the entire height of the room and leads to the chapel. The other peels apart the same way, only it's thinner. The halls, which are straight, lead to this room though that still leaves the possibility of a warping in space-time. During the first confrontation rematch on the Souja, Mihoshi ended up in the "reverse" side of the Souja, where Washu was frozen in stasis. In the second door lies a black and white marbled portal, which is most likely a teleport device.

The chapel can basically be considered the place of worship/throne room, and is well known as the place where he plots and (in case of intruders) battles. As is the tradition of chapels, this one is also the home of his great pipe organ. It is distinguished from other pipe organs in that it is at least ten times bigger than a standard room, and that it actually may have the power to reveal some traps and move around the walls of the hallway. Kagato isn't exactly the most subtle of people sometimes, but he is the most effective. It also contains an hourglass-like jar that Kagato kept Ryoko trapped in while she was his slave underling. Most obviously, the Souja is one of the most powerful ships in the universe, if not the absolute best. The chapel throne is the most brightly shining area of the entire ship, fittingly noting its special distinction as one of the top marks in the entire universe. So as to make it appropriate that this chapel serves as the throne area and battleground on the Souja, Kagato made the chapel to have more space for said activities than anywhere else on the titanic ship. (not to be confused with **that** _Titanic_ ship, which **(reminder here!)** blew to bits)

The "reverse world" of the Souja is really just an upside down dimension within the ship, that Mihoshi ended up in whilst the girls traveled the hallways in pursuit of Kagato in the first confrontation. It was also in the reverse version of Kagato's chapel here that he decided to place Washu a good number of centuries ago while she was in stasis, in order to ensure that she would not somehow awaken and step in his way. While that didn't work last time, for obvious reasons of dumb luck, it does not cause Kagato's confidence to waver any at all.

At this very moment in time, Kagato, Cell, Nagi, and Garlic Jr. stood outside the Souja admiring the towering ship on that certain dark planet within the neighboring solar system.

"I have to say, I misjudged the parts," Cell admitted with a smile, making no qualms about seeing that his ally was better than he thought. "Before I could see how they went together."

"Ah, yes. A much more fitting sanctuary for us than Kami's stinking tower," Garlic Jr. agreed, throwing out an insult at the Guardian's Lookout. Sure, it was at the top of the earth, and Garlic Jr. made his own dark green throne in its midst, but that place also contained the key to neutralizing his plan, and no good excuse for it. Not only that, it had too much "holy good guy" written all over it. This one, the Souja, actually had a small piece of darkness associated with it.

"So, this is what Ken-Ohki's fusing with?" Nagi asked, Kagato giving a nod of confidence as confirmation to the fact. Within Garlic Jr.'s hands, Ken-Ohki gave a more jovial yet still vile version of his usual "Chou!" sound, being perfectly happy about the opportunity that he was getting. The words that came out of Nagi's mouth in seeing the desire of Ken-Ohki reflected the thoughts of both her and her little animal partner in time: _"Now I really want to all of those "honorable heroes" suffer."_

"Let us all teleport to the chapel," Kagato instructed the group immediately following Nagi's words, finally prompting his allies to get a firsthand look at the glory of the Souja's chapel/throne room. Through Cell's instant transmission technique, the four of them finally landed at the chapel, right in front of the glowing golden throne of the incomparable mastermind himself.

However, there was one subtle and notable difference between this incarnation of the Souja and the last one: the fact that there was a stone pillar a few steps before the throne, with a glass dome on top of it, just as Garlic Jr. had prophesized. Upon noticing this, Nagi immediately looked down towards Garlic Jr.'s hands, tenderly yet carefully holding Ken-Ohki (a/n: well, as tenderly as an evil villain can) so as to ensure that the cabbit didn't suddenly injure himself further and become unfit for usage after having come so far in his recovery. It was at this very junction in time, when Garlic Jr. put on a dark smirk and walked towards the stone pillar. He then held up Ken-Ohki just above the pillar, and the glass dome disappeared. Finally, Garlic Jr. placed Ken-Ohki onto the pillar, after which the glass dome reappeared.

"Are you ready Ken-Ohki?" Nagi asked in a calling yell, knowing as the others did that this was indeed the final step towards the evolution of the master ship. Ken-Ohki did not answer with words, however: he answered the only way a truly concentrated cabbit can: by channeling up the energy inside him, and then releasing it in a furious scream. This sparked a tornado of power from Ken-Ohki that, thanks to the dome, did not extend anywhere outside it. However, that's not to say that the energy was completely needless, for soon, whether you were inside the Souja, or any other location from where you could even vaguely see the planet it was on, your eyes ran into a continuous array of bright flashes of light, which were followed up by an extreme explosion of yellow light. Once the light ran out, the silver parts of the ship now were more of a beige-golden touch, both on the inside and on the outside. Also, it seems that each part of the Souja became even larger than it had been before. Right then, Kagato and company recognized that this was the proof that Ken-Ohki's concentrated energy had indeed accomplished exactly what they had predicted it would: it made the already supremely powerful Souja become the even more domineering Ken-Souja.

"Finally, we will destroy the Z-senshi, and the Masaki's extended family, in order to accomplish our revenge and become the supreme beings of the universe," Cell predicted, the strong belief in his dark statement growing and protruding more and more, as his tone became increasingly louder and his pitch higher. "No one will stand in our way! No one can stop us! We shall rule over all!" The laughter echoed from him, and then from his partners, all across the universe, as the Ken-Souja waited to fly through space.

This scene was done in mid morning, during which every one of our heroes, in all locations, were attempting to get some sleep. In Yugi and Sakuya's room somewhere inside Washu's lab, however, one girl's sleep would become interrupted to severe degrees by this fact.

(In a dream, Yugi and all of her friends, the Z senshi and the Masaki clan, were all enjoying themselves in a certain piece of heaven that she had once created herself: the cherry blossom scene via which she reunited Sakuya and Tenchi for the last time before the Kumashiro Kid had heard all she needed to hear, and made the ultimate sacrifice, the decision by which she sealed her fate and began Yugi's transformation for the better.

Anyway, at this point in the dream, Ryoko went from talking to Raditz to quickly trying to harass Tenchi in front of Sakuya once again, which - because the two girls clicked so well as friends after Ryoko got rid of her jealousy problem - actually entertained Sakuya, adding to Ryoko's enjoyment of it after they both laughed. Even outside the dream, this was one of the trio's little codes, so that Ryoko could continue to spend some time with Tenchi but at the same time not take from his relationship with Sakuya. Among other things, Vegeta and Goku were competitively joshing around with each other while their wives socialized, Ayeka treated herself to some tea courtesy of her little sister, and the kid's tag team of Goten and Trunks fused into Gotenks and bothered Piccolo while he was trying to talk with Videl and Gohan. Then, the laugh came into her ears, and a large green blast of energy completely destroyed the cherry blossom scene and everyone in it except for Yugi.

She found herself back at her ice palace, the one from which she tried to take over the world when she was warped and misguided. She was scared. Visions of Hotsuma, Matori, and Tsugaru, her former servants, started appearing in the ice crystals around her, sending her backing into her former throne. All the while, the laugh continued echoing, and the four terrorists of the universe were soon surrounding her in giant stature.

"Get ready to return to the dark, Yugi," Kagato instructed her, with the evilest of smiles coming onto his face. "For you will never escape _again!_" Then, the fear that had already become written all over Yugi's face became even more obvious and striking. There was absolutely nothing beautiful about this scene at this point in time. The villains kept on creeping closer to her.

"No… no! Don't put me back in the dark! Please!" she pleaded with them, remembering the horrors of being sealed in a prison even tighter and darker than Ryoko's cave. "I don't want to live in the dark again! No! Get away from me!"

Then, the four of them laughed… actually, more like snickered. Before the devastating laugh of darkness fully developed once more, and soon, she could see a white hand with completely black fingernails extending towards her head…)

"NOOOOO!" Yugi screamed, now completely awake. Yet the fear she had just felt in her sleep was completely evident. She was sitting up in her bed, looking at her hands, and uncontrollably shivering as that cold feeling ran straight down her spine. The shock from hearing such loudness interfered with Sakuya's slumber, and that's quite an accomplishment considering Sakuya's bed is across the room from hers. Now, this room is not much bigger than Tenchi's room, but it was still something, to be able to awaken Sakuya as she was dreaming about Tenchi. Escaping from the sheets which covered her, Sakuya used all the energy she could possibly muster at this point in time and walked over to Yugi, concerned about the friend who had separated from her and given her a physical form.

"Yugi, what's wrong?" Sakuya asked, seeing that the girl was trembling within her own bed sheets.

"Aah!" Yugi screamed, going back down and huddling within her sheets. She still trembled out of her boots. Whatever nightmare she was having must have shaken her dearly.

"Umm… Yugi? What's wrong?" Sakuya asked as she tried to peer closer, before realizing that the physically younger girl was actually trying to form words while shaking uncontrollably underneath the sheets.

"Please don't put me in the dark… please don't put me in the dark… please don't put me in the dark…"

"Yugi!" Sakuya yelled in concern, reaching out to get Yugi's shoulder. Upon feeling the contact, however, Yugi sharply turned around and jerked away from Sakuya's touch, knocking her down. It was only upon hearing Sakuya's momentary scream that Yugi realized exactly what was going on, and finally concentrated enough to see that Sakuya was seated down on her backside, looking quite shocked and concerned about her. Realizing the error in judgment that had befallen her because of her dreams, Yugi bowed her head in shame.

"Sakuya, I… I'm so sorry. I just had this nightmare, and… Cell and Kagato and the others tried to put me in the dark…" Yugi tried to explain, the drama and fear evident in her voice. Tears began to well up in her eyes as well, though she wasn't exactly bawling her eyes out. As Yugi took the sheets out from over her and sat at the edge of the bed, Sakuya got up at last, then walked over to Yugi and cupped the icy blonde child's face into her arms, allowing her to feel the tears that finally started falling down the scared kid's face.

"There, there. It's all going to be okay," Sakuya reassured, the calm and peaceful tone to her aiding in that process, though she did ponder about an issue. _Yugi… with these enemies running around, your fears have started jumping up again. I hope you can stay strong enough, in time for us to get rid of them._

Eventually, Yugi did gain solace from that moment, and she and Sakuya were able to get back to sleep. While the next day arose with much more confidence abounding than in those moments, on both the light and dark sides, the Land of the Supreme Kais featured an interesting conversation between Kibitoshin and Rou Dai Kaioshin (the Elder Supreme Kai), the only two remaining Supreme Kais of the Universe.

"For some reason, my ancestor, I sense something. Something very troubling," Kibitoshin began, the ominous quality apparent with each word.

"Yes, I know. I get the feeling that the horrors we've faced in the past will all be outdone," the Elder Kai seconded the thought and its notion.

"Do you think this is a deeper threat than the four we have now to worry about?" Kibitoshin asked, his stomach tingling at the very idea.

"No, I don't," the Elder Kai answered, leaving Kibitoshin dumbfounded with confusion.

"But sir! Didn't you just say that this threat may outdo all the ones the universe has ever faced?" Kibitoshin asked. To coincide with his point of confusion, the Elder Kai nodded his head in response, prompting the following reply. "Well, in that case, then how can this not be bigger than the threat we're dealing with right now?"

"Easy. I think this is associated with the threat we're dealing with right now," the Elder Kai explained. The "whoa" sound that came from Kibitoshin told his ancestor from fifteen generations ago that he was beginning to get the point. "From what I understand, the confrontations that occurred between Kagato and the Masaki clan mainly took place on Kagato's ship, the mega-powerful Souja. That being said, I don't believe there has been any mention of the Souja during any of the recent confrontations between the heroes and the four."

"So you're saying," Kibitoshin suspected, "that the Souja could be the source of this extra threat? That Kagato has rebuilt it, and possibly made it even stronger?"

"Yes. I'm positive that's exactly what's happened," the Old Kai answered, as well as formed his crystal ball. "But just to be sure, here. Take a good look at my crystal ball." He then dropped it on the ground, following which he and his fused descendant/descendant's aide sat down next to one another, though far enough not to obstruct each other's view of the structure. An image began to develop in that crystal ball, of a planet way out in space, in a totally different solar system from that of mother Earth. Just leaving that planet was a masterful piece of work: it was a gigantic example of a spaceship, one that was designed to look almost like a titanic cobra with gills for a body. It had a beige/golden color to it, and the power that they sensed from it, combined with the power they sensed from a certain four forces inside it, was the most devastating force of strength they have ever noted in the history of their lives.

"O… o… oh my gosh," Kibitoshin barely managed to utter, as his entire body shook in utter shock. "This is unspeakable. I've never seen any dark army amass that much power."

"Not even in my heyday!" the Elder Kai complained, shaking as well. Before he knew it, the Madri Scholar suddenly appeared, to his left. He and Kibitoshin looked in the direction of the all-seeing speed demon of the universe, and the acknowledgement of his presence was not exactly a very friendly one.

"You!" the Elder Kai yelled as he stormed to his feet. "You are one of the most ridiculous fools I have ever had to deal with! Ever! Not only does your job contain stalking the heroes of the universe and trying to help them whenever you see something that could possibly lead to that effect, but now you've finally made your first mistake, which might just lead to the catastrophic end of time! Sure, you may have intertwined two realms of heroes together, and in the process, I got to see even more pretty young girls, (Kibitoshin crashes down in disbelief) but even so, that was the worst decision ever!" Now, the Madri Scholar started feeling pretty defeated, like he had just failed himself, and the rest of the universe. With that in mind, he turned away and bowed his head in shame.

"I know. Now the Souja's back, and even more powerful than before," the Madri Scholar added to his own bashing, indicating that he was just as angry at himself for this maneuver. "Ah, great. I'm getting the feeling that each and every one of our lucks may have just run out. All because I had to be stupid enough to automatically jump to something like this just from thinking Raditz could reform."

"What?" the Supreme Kais both exclaimed, not believing what they were hearing. However, the Scholar merely disregarded the sounds of shock and continued to grumble about his mistakes.

"I should have been more careful than that, noted all the edges to the plan. Instead, I jumped at the opportunity for Goku to be reunited with his brother, and completely overlooked the possibility that somebody else was in hell, chomping at the bit for an opportunity to get out," he confessed, beating himself up about the whole thing. "Thanks to me and my stupid mistake, Cell was able to be set free, and he brought back Kagato, with a set of alien Dragon Balls whose wish sends negative energy onto a planet, which completely gobbles it up and destroys it the minute it accomplishes a full revolution! And to make things worse, Garlic Jr. also escaped, with more power, and even more cunning, and even more of a thirst for revenge than before! Not to mention the accident with Nagi. That was the first sign of darkness I overlooked. The minute Nagi and Ken-Ohki crashed into that reef was the moment they became evil… and it's because I had to be an idiot."

"Well, on the bright side, Madri Scholar, I think your objective worked," Kibitoshin finally spoke up, this time effectively stopping the Scholar's self-undoing tirade. "In your defense, you did get one thing accomplished. Not only is Raditz much stronger than before, he has reformed to our side. At least… I think so."

"I know so. But that isn't the point. The point is, that wasn't worth the rest of the end result! At this rate, Raditz reforming will mean _nothing_!" the Madri Scholar shot as he turned violently towards the Kais, continuing to defend himself against himself.

"Maybe there's something deeper to this than you think there is," Kibitoshin optimistically speculated out of nowhere in an attempt to lift the Scholar's spirit. "Maybe there's something else that we're supposed to discover. Something that can help us beat Cell and Kagato."

"I already know a secret that can help us defeat them, in the form of someone who's been living in a shed for about eight and a half years. But with a power-heightened Souja on their side, I fear that even he may not be enough," the Madri Scholar confessed in still-showing shame.

"Well, all we can do now is hope that the Z fighters, the Masaki clan, and whoever your little shoeshine boy is will have what it takes to destroy all of these villains, including their Souja," the Elder Kai stated.

"Guys, look. The Souja is now in the Earth's atmosphere, and someone's descending from it… and that someone is headed straight for the Capsule Corporation," Kibitoshin suddenly informed them, watching from the crystal ball that the Elder Kai had formed. The Elder Kai and the Madri Scholar then finally turned around, and the Scholar could immediately tell who it was as soon as he saw the black robe flowing in the wind.

"It's Nagi!" they exclaimed. As they could see overlooking the crystal ball, as soon as she got within proper range, she got out of that flying downward pose with a rolling somersault and landed on her feet right in front of the Corporation building. Vegeta and Bulma, at that time, were looking outside a window, and they saw the evilly reformed bounty hunter.

"Grrr… Nagi! That devil woman!" Vegeta noticed, an angry scowl coming on his face while his right hand closed into a clenched fist. Before Bulma could even get a word in, however, Vegeta flew outside the window and came down to confront Nagi. She looked at him, her face cold, serious, determined, and cleanly bent on destroying him, her eyes seeing him as one more reason she couldn't get to Ryoko. One more reason that she must vanquish, just like Krillin and Yamcha.

"So, you came here to look for me, huh?" Vegeta asked, his voice immediately warlike and serious as well. He saw her as the killer of Krillin and Yamcha, and somehow the key to the four's dominion over the universe. If only he knew exactly how he was correct…

"Now, you figured it out?" Nagi replied to his question with an inquiry of her own, her voice equally militant and void of any kidding. "Vegeta, I'm gonna kill you, but not because you're in my way about Ryoko. I know that full well, and that may motivate me a little, but I actually have an alternate reason for it."

"Well, you already placed me on your most wanted list," Vegeta recalled with venom in his every word. _Now they're self-appointing their own trophy heads, and I'm supposed to be one of the marks on their list? I'm not having it!_

"Get ready to die, Vegeta!" Nagi yelled, before charging for Vegeta. He anticipated her going for a backhand attack, and therefore ducked underneath it, causing her to miss. He then took the opportunity to hit a somersault kick which struck her straight in the chin and sent her flying, but she quickly went down and managed to stay on her feet. Vegeta then went in after her with a running elbow to the head, knocking her back into the wall around the Capsule Corp property. The wall broke, and the bricks crumbled around her, giving Vegeta enough space to exert just enough of his energy to turn into a Super Saiyan 1 without any special effects other than his glow and the shifting of his hair and eye color and definition. He then came to the air and flew off, but not to escape Nagi, more like to try to get away from Capsule Corp, knowing that Nagi would try to use someone from home as a strategic advantage. Once she got out from under the rubble, the bounty hunter looked pretty damn ticked off, at the idea that he was getting away from her. It reminded her of Ryoko being the first quarry to successfully escape her. That memory motivated her to get up and quickly chase after him, although he was in the air and she hadn't quite gotten the art of flight down yet. She had to rely on being able to try to keep up with him via high speed… or so she originally thought.

"Cell, I know you're paying attention on that Ken-Souja," she said. "Follow Vegeta, and wherever he goes, get over here and take me there."

Meanwhile, on the Ken-Souja, several screens were in the sight of Cell, Kagato, and Garlic Jr., all watching the fight from some angle or another. One of the screens was indeed following where Vegeta went, just as Nagi had instructed aloud.

"Hmm. She's smart," Cell noted. "I could have told her about that idea, but she knew it already. Now I can see why she's your world's top bounty hunter."

"Duly noted," Kagato replied, keeping it as simple and short as possible.

After a very good number of minutes (probably about a half hour or something) of flying away from Nagi and hoping that she was close so that they could continue the fight away from Capsule Corp, Vegeta stopped, as soon as he noticed two things. One: he had just happened upon a wide grassland with a large windmill tower in its vicinity, and a Saiyan spaceship actually there. _So this is where Raditz landed when he first appeared on the planet._ Two: there was absolutely no sign of Nagi the bounty hunter behind him. _Absolutely no trace of her! What happened? Can she not fly or something?_

Just as he was beginning to get frustrated with the idea that she was that slow, or that she really couldn't fly, which quite frankly made it even less believable that she could have killed Yamcha and Krillin so easily, she suddenly appeared on the battleground in a flash. Cell was there right alongside her, and after giving a little clever smile, he disappeared without Nagi, leaving her on the field alone to battle Vegeta.

"See anything familiar about that circular-looking piece of trash?" Nagi asked, noticing that something in his eye was wavering toward that thing.

"It happens to be the one that Raditz arrived on this planet in," Vegeta answered, hating the fact that he was saying something with such honor to someone who had lost that much honor.

"Ah, so the Ryoko-liking baby came from a stork, but instead of a stork, it was a circular piece of crap excuse for a spaceship," Nagi assumed, taunting Vegeta while at it. It upset his pride to think that the woman who accidentally caused Nagi to be evil, then accidentally almost drove a wedge between Vegeta and his own son Trunks, was actually being placed in honorable mention with Raditz. Sure, she was on the good side, but too careless to earn all of his respect just yet. It was laughable to think Raditz could even have a crush on anyone at all, let alone with that crazy space pirate, of all people. Still, Vegeta kept his composure. Having not seen any sign that could tell him that a certain improbable connection was happening, he suspected as to what Nagi was doing: that she was trying to infuriate him by playing at his own game.

"You're going to have to do better than that in order to catch me off balance," Vegeta intentionally disappointed her, putting on a cocky smirk on his face. "You know, Nagi, if I had met you before you became this miserable, pathetic, Cell-dependant shadow of yourself, you probably would have earned my respect. But I had to see you first after you changed… and after you killed Yamcha and Krillin!"

"From what I hear, you didn't like those two very much, so why do you exactly care?" Nagi asked, a smirk coming onto her face as she thought he wouldn't be able to answer that one.

"Yamcha may have played Bulma in the past whilst I have yet to even fathom such a thing, and Krillin may have completely annoyed me with his overt mercy and compassion, but they're both worthy of a lot more respect than being killed by someone like you!" Vegeta suddenly yelled out. "Good luck trying to beat me at my forte again, but it's time for you to accept the universal fate of darkness: the fate of being destroyed by a true champion! And who better to do it than me, the Prince of all Saiyans? Technically, I'd be the new King of all Saiyans, but I think Prince sounds better, so I'll just stick with that. Now you're going to die!"

"Oh, yeah? Try me!" Nagi dared the Saiyan Prince. This finally set off the confrontation between two people that once could have been considered tweeners between good and evil, for upon saying the words "Try me", Nagi charged after Vegeta once again, but this time didn't go for a charge attack straight away. Instead, she tried attacking him with a leg sweep. However, he leapt over it and went for a kick to the face on her. She ducked underneath and went right past it, then tried to hit a backhand to the back of Vegeta's head. He skillfully and calmly blocked it with his right knuckle, with which he finally got a hit on Nagi's head. He continued his little combo with a spinning back elbow to the side of her midsection, then a spinning left kick to the side of the head, then finished it with a leg sweep, taking her down on her backside. Vegeta then went down to try and punch her head into the ground, but she rolled sideways out of the way, and he just ended up crushing some rock underneath the grass. As she was rolling, Nagi managed to draw out her laser whip, and before Vegeta could turn around, his back ended up taking some serious whiplash. She whipped him in the back five times, all of which packed a really powerful punch.

"Heh heh heh heh heh. I see you're actually quite easy to get on the ropes, even as a Super Saiyan," Nagi said, a serious overconfidence flowing from her as she walked closer to him as he grimaced in pain. She knocked him down with a cold right hand, then mounted herself on top of him as he laid on his back. Right then, she drew out her power strike sword, completely expecting the easy go to finish him off.

"Any last words, _Prince_ Vegeta?" she asked, mocking his former royal title on Planet Vegeta, expecting that to be the last word before she sliced through his heart and got rid of him. But instead, she found that he wasn't going to be so easy to take down as Krillin or Yamcha, as he suddenly moved his hand between his and her chest, charging an energy ball from that hand which caused an explosion. Vegeta and Nagi then ended up on opposite sides of the smokescreen that ensued, thus officially separating them.

"Should've known it wasn't going to be that quick," Nagi realized aloud.

"Yes, you should've," Vegeta agreed, a smirk coming onto his Super Saiyan face. "But I'm still taking you up on that last words thing. In fact, Nagi, I've got two words for yah." The minute he made this statement, he concentrated his energy, obviously for a high charge attack. In order to form the blast that he was planning, he had to stretch out his arms and form two small energy balls on each hand. Then, he brought the arms together and extended them forward, towards Nagi. As he began to focus more and more energy into this attack, Vegeta realized that it was time to say the two words:

"Final Flash!"

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Nagi: "Well, I made the mistake of assuming that you were gonna be that easy to defeat, but I'm not making it again."

-Vegeta: "Finally, you're actually trying to challenge me."

-Nagi: "How does it feel knowing I had you on the ropes?"

-Vegeta: "You're kidding!"

-Trunks: "That woman's really annoying! I hate her! Goten, let's go over there and kick her butt! She doesn't even deserve to be fighting with my dad!"

-Goten: "On the next **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, Trunks and I get to some serious bad guy busting all over again in **Chapter 15: Intervention Gotenks**."


	15. Intervention Gotenks

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Grand Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: Guess I was speechless as far as the "Notes" section last chapter. Well, I actually do have something to say this time. Now, the power that I'm about to introduce from Nagi's staff-like sword may or may not be an extra power unseen in the anime. I don't even know whether or not this is the case, but I'd really rather not go on the big, long search much longer. Look how long it took me to regain the information on what Nagi's weapons were.

By the way, judge for yourself when you see it, but I think this might be my shortest (and maybe worst) fight yet. Speaking of which, whoever reviews this chapter, please tell me which fight you think was best, and which one you think was worst: Tenchi-Garlic Jr., Sons-Cell, or this one?

**Chapter 15: Intervention Gotenks.**

Seeing the great concentration of power in that piece of energy that was about to burst at him, Nagi knew that she didn't have much of a chance if she just stood there and took the brunt of the attack without a fight. Cell himself had told her in the Souja that he had once taken a Final Flash attack, back when he had first attained his perfect form. Not only had he gotten temporarily maimed, but as he once said himself, if it wasn't for the fact that he in his perfect form was much stronger than Vegeta, Cell might not have even survived the impact. So, in response to this, she drew out her sword. It was actually about as much a power staff as a sword. Most of it was actually round, and the sharp part (which was the front) had a hole in the center. The only thing that distinguished it as a sword was its handle and the fact that it could still cut right through someone because it was so sharp. But there was actually a reason that hole was there.

As Vegeta prepared himself to finally launch the Final Flash attack on Nagi, she extended her sword forward, and a light began to emanate from it. This light was followed with a ball of energy, which was white and a whole lot of light colors. Finally, Vegeta shot out his Final Flash, the ball in his hands turning into a large wave of furious concentrated power, intent on fulfilling the reason that he called it the Final Flash: because it could instantly finish someone in a flash of explosive light. However, the explosion wouldn't hit Nagi, for she launched the ball into a multicolored energy wave. The collision between Final Flash and sword wave was actually starting to shake the ground that they were battling on, before suddenly, a large ball of energy, consisting of both attacks, started forming around the area where they met into each other. It was only a matter of time before that large ball became a giant and exploded, rocking both Nagi and Vegeta hard enough to stop their push.

Both of them were knocked back, and ended up sliding backwards a good 21 feet. Both of them now had scratch marks on their faces as a result of that little collision. And both of them got up, looking pretty darn ticked off.

Outside the Masaki house, Tenchi was actually walking up the long stairway to Katsuhito's shrine, but he wasn't alone. Behind him were Raditz, Ryoko, Ayeka, Yugi, and even Sasami and Washu. They were hoping to take this opportunity to do a little training, Sasami and Washu being onlookers for the most part. This was a very serious time they were in, and they couldn't afford to slouch off. But before they all completely got at the stairs, all of them (even Tenchi, having evidently learned about ki whilst training in the chamber with Gohan) sensed something really disconcerting in the air. Instantly, they began to recognize exactly what was going on.

"Wait a minute. I can sense Nagi's energy," Ryoko realized, a scowl coming onto her face at that notion. "But who's that other one she's fighting?"

"I'd call you an idiot, but lucky for you, you're not even used to that kind of power," Raditz said smugly, which did nothing but intentionally make Ryoko mad. "Seriously, the other one… huh! I think that's Vegeta!"

"Vegeta, huh? I don't think she has a chance, then. But I'm going anyway," Ryoko decided, flying away in the direction of the fight between Nagi and Vegeta.

"Ryoko, wait!" Tenchi called to her, to no avail. She was already flying away to the location of the battle, and she had no intention on stopping there.

"I'm going in after her," Raditz decided also, flying away as well. Now, the rest of them weren't all the way up the stairs to the shrine, but they were nearly there at this point. Katsuhito walked over to the staircase and looked below him to see the situation.

"Do not go after them to stop them," Katsuhito instructed his grandson and the others that were still around. "They have their reasons, and I'm sure they are very good ones. As for the rest of you, come up here and let us begin training. I will be using my bokken, but you may all choose whether or not take one for your own." He then noticed something about Ayeka, and surprise actually came onto his face. "Now, Ayeka. Do tell us why you haven't brought Azaka and Kamidake with you for this training."

"Well, Yosho, I purposely did not command them to my side, because I feel that it would be much more effective to strengthen myself alone, so that I may be more effective in fighting without them at my side. That way, if it ever comes to that disconcerting point where I have to call them to me, it would be much more efficient, for the enemy would be more damaged," Ayeka explained, the blatant ego stance of overconfidence coming out in full form as she uttered those words.

"That better be the truth, because, if I find out you sent them to try and torture Sakuya instead, then so help me I'll…" Yugi threatened, leaving the concept open for the others' interpretation of exactly what she planned to do, before Washu closed it with her own action.

"I'll take you into the lab and run experiments on you all day and night long when all this is over."

Back to the battlefield, Nagi and Vegeta were both impressed with one another's skills, as evident by the smirks that currently flooded their faces.

"For someone who apparently can't fly very well, I'm surprised to see you're a very good fighter," Vegeta admitted, giving her due credit where credit is due.

"Funny. To tell you the truth, I can't fly upwards at all," she revealed, surprising Vegeta as she added to her own credit. "The only way I can fly is when I'm diving or falling, to have control over the action. Anyway, prepare to die."

But no sooner did she say that than Vegeta let out a huge scream, through which he increased his power level dramatically, and pretty much threw a ton of wind around the place. He soon stopped, when the differences were apparent. As a phosphoric golden glow surrounded the Super Saiyan Prince, his hair and body muscles became even more defined, the usual effects of the shift between SSJ and SS2.

_Whoa. That transformation is absolutely amazing when you see it up close. I don't think he's as strong as that Goku guy or the one whose hair stayed black, though. But still, I'd better be careful. One mistake could mean my end,_ Nagi thought, her face regaining the soldier-like seriousness that had come upon it when she appeared at Capsule Corp to start this fight.

"After that awesome display of power, I'm surprised you're not running away," Vegeta stated, his clever remarks not dropping down in the least.

"Well, after seeing how you let me take you down, I'm surprised you're not… DEAD!" Nagi shot, charging in after Vegeta with a couple of punches to the face. Surprisingly, they actually made an impact. But he blocked the third one and quickly hit an uppercut, sending her flying backwards. She couldn't control and stop the motion, so he appeared behind and kicked her down, following which he went for the usual angry barrage of ki shots, however much more focused and on target compared to when he had aimlessly shot at Cell a good few years ago back at the Cell Games. However, he was actually completely off, for underneath the smoke, Nagi moved out of the same line of fire that served for each and every one of what seemed like about a hundred shots, then took out her laser whip once more and actually managed to use it on the airborne Super Saiyan. A throbbing pain then came over him in his right side as he had suffered the fury of Nagi's whip once again. She tried him again and actually got his head, which led to a small cut up top. But despite grimacing in pain, he still had enough in him to anticipate her trying to whip him a third time and actually block the laser device. Vegeta then threw it down, in a way that ended up seeing Nagi get tied up in her own weapon.

"Ha. You may have cut me, but you're in no position to do anything more. So you see what happens now, when you face a Super Saiyan of royal blood?" Vegeta asked, fully confident that Nagi had just cooked herself there with a bad strategic move. He then got into position to concentrate another blast, which actually showed in blue ki. Putting his hands together in open palm position so as to form the attack, he finally shot his…

"Gallic Gun!" But as the large bullet of energy came down to hit Nagi, she managed to roll out of the way, and in the right direction to roll out of her own whip, so while he blasted that piece of the ground, she was completely unaffected.

"Well, I see you're a skilled dodger of aerial attacks," Vegeta commended her, following which he immediately took the battle down to the ground, so as for her to not be able to do something like that. Nagi went for a punch, but Vegeta blocked it again. She then went for a spinning kick, but with both hands, Vegeta stopped her. That is, until she jumped with her other leg in order to kick his face in an enzuiguri! From there, Nagi was able to take the edge. That effective kick knocked Vegeta down to his knees with his back turned to her. She took advantage of this and kicked him in the ribs, causing him to roll around on the ground favoring his midsection. Soon, he stopped rolling, and he was down on his back. She had a good mind to crush his ribs now with her feet, which she actually tried to do, except Vegeta suddenly turned his hands around at the last second and intercepted, then took her off balance so that she would fall on her back! It was after this that Vegeta nipped up, then finally hit her with a shot of ki while she was down. However, as the smoke cleared, she managed to stand up on her two feet. Vegeta came in after her and went for a charging punch, but she leapt over him and dodged it completely. However, as if anticipating that, he turned around as she did and hit her with a three-punch combo using his left fist for the second hit, then a left knee and right kick to her chin, sending her upwards again. However, this time, she didn't go as uncontrollably high as before, dropping to the ground and stumbling a little bit before quickly picking herself up. Vegeta charged at her and went for a backhand, but she blocked the impact, then hit her with a left hand punch and a right hand uppercut, forcing him a few feet into the air, from which he quickly fell and regained his ground. Then, she hit him with a seriously difficult kick to the side, which reminded Vegeta of exactly what happened last time he fought against a lady.

"Seem familiar? According to something I found out, last time you faced a woman in battle, she completely kicked you around," Nagi taunted, somehow knowing exactly what she was actually saying: that he got his butt kicked by a woman before, and that it was happening again. "You're a complete loser, Vegeta. You claim to be the Prince of all Saiyans, you get stronger, yet you end up getting your butt kicked by a woman. Not once, Vegeta! Twice!"

"Are you finished?" Vegeta asked, struggling through the pain that the kick had placed on his side. It was also now that he began to get up off his knee and actually start sucking it up like a man. "Because I've got something to say to you, woman. I'm not the weakling you think I am. Oh, and as for that woman that… kicked me around? You forget that she's the semi-android whose husband, and whose first major reason for living since she lost her brother, you stabbed to death in cold blood! She at least resisted with all she had becoming a part of Cell! How dare you compare yourself to her!"

"I'm not a part of Cell, I'm his teammate. And you talk about Eighteen like she's your wife or something," Nagi strategically noted, just to see if she could either make him "admit" he's afraid of Eighteen or drive any kind of wedge between Vegeta and Bulma.

"No, I talk about her like she's my friend. Something you ought to think about!" Vegeta shot in furious reply, immediately dismissing both of the theories that his enemy was trying to test. By now, the pain in his side had subsided well enough for him to get back to action. Meanwhile, at Capsule Corp, Bulma and Trunks were sitting at the table…

"Mom! Are you telling me Nagi was here, and she's fighting dad?" Trunks demanded, anger beginning to swell up within him at that point in time.

"Yes, Trunks. They're fighting," Bulma admitted plainly, until something came up. "And he completely forgot to tell me to get the device from Washu!"

"That doesn't matter right now! Mom, I need you to call Goten over here, quick!" Trunks shot, the young child quickly instructing his mother in all his fury.

"Alright, Trunks. What's the big idea?" she asked, beginning to get a little curious as to what he had in mind.

"I need us to fuse into Gotenks, so that we can beat the living heck out of that bounty hunter!" he yelled once more, now getting into complaining mode. "That woman's so annoying, and she killed Krillin and Yamcha, right when I was actually making a joke about that guy! I hate her! Dad is the Prince of the Saiyans, and she's become nothing but a cold-hearted killer! Someone like Nagi doesn't deserve to be fighting my dad!"

But, unfortunately, someone like Nagi was fighting his dad, and at the moment, was finally introduced to the almighty high-speed world of burst mode combat. Vegeta, experienced with this, was throwing punches and kicks left and right, and all Nagi could do was dodge, block, and in quite a few cases, take the hit and hope that it didn't cripple her. He ended the burst mode confrontation by hitting Nagi with a forward leaping kick, knocking her back and down. She managed to get back up a few seconds afterwards, though a surefire pain stunned her, allowing Vegeta to hit a spinning leaping kick on her and send her sliding back a few feet on the ground. She struggled quite a bit to get up, and Vegeta saw this as an opportunity to hit a shining wizard on her while she was on her knees. But, to his dismay, she managed to duck it, then trip him up, forcing his fall. She then got up herself, and kicked the downed piece of Saiyan royalty one time, after which she took out the whip, with the idea of lashing it straight to hell. However, once again, Vegeta wasn't going to be caught on the ground a pure victim to Nagi's weapon. He immediately rolled to his back and shot Nagi with a Ki wave, which exploded in her face and forced her to evade the smoke as well.

At this point in the battle, both Vegeta and Nagi wore a few battle scars, and though they weren't giving in, neither looked to be in perfect condition. She then took out her power strike sword one more time, and another flash of light protruded from it. Immediately after that blast, energy blasts of multiple light colors ended up shooting out from the sword, all heading for Vegeta. Seeing them coming, he dodged each and every one of them with a leaping sidestep, until she suddenly stopped shooting where he was and went for where he was going to be. Of course, that one hit him right on target, leading to the rest of the barrage attacking him and exploding onto his body. Even as smoke developed and covered the scene, this continued to be the happening until he suddenly used a furious burst of energy to blow everything away. This stunned her enough to stop her shooting, but she quickly stayed on course with the battle attacks, immediately charging after the Saiyan prince with the hopes of stabbing him with her sword. Vegeta, however, would see it coming and swat it away, after which he hit her with a double hand swing, sending her down once again. Vegeta then stuck his right arm forward with an open palm, and a surge of yellow electric energy started flowing within it.

"Atomic Blast!" he called, following which he sent the ensuing shot of yellow energy straight in the direction of a certain bounty hunter. He had learned this move by turning against the good guys and unlocking his own Majin power, which actually ended up in the freeing of Buu. That turned out to be an overwhelmingly bad situation which reaped its own special positive results. Hopefully this situation could end up the same way, but it wasn't time to think about that now. He just sent that Atomic Blast straight towards Nagi, and it hit its target, causing a mild explosion in the world. But did it actually do any damage? Not significant damage, because at the last second, she managed to pick herself up and actually get off the ground right before the blast hit. This is what he would discover once he saw that the smoke cleared, and Nagi was struggling, yet still managed to get a hand into her hooded robe and onto her laser whip. No sooner did he see that, however, than Nagi actually struck him with the whip, stealing the advantage from Vegeta once again. This fight was not one of the longest battles ever, but anyone who was watching could see that it was even-ended, with Nagi and Vegeta stealing advantages left and right on each other. As the whip slapped Vegeta in the face, he thought that no slap could hurt as much as one from Bulma, but at least from a physical standpoint at this moment in time, this woman's whip was more painful than his wife. Then, Nagi finally made a smart move relating to this weapon. Instead of using it to the top of his body all the time, now Nagi started striking him in the legs with the whip. She hit him in the knee with one, then attacked his foot, forcing him to trip and fall on his stomach. Now that he was down, she whipped his back, then his backside, and then down to his calf. A smile crept on her face as she began to enjoy this.

Believing this recent advantage to be very decisive, as in _There was no way Vegeta can come back now, I've got this battle won,_ Nagi finally went towards the area where her sword had fallen a short while back, which was about a good fifty yards away, in order to pick up. But right after she did, Vegeta sucked it up once again, it being the damage he was feeling, which was actually pretty major at this point in time, and shot a ball of ki which was good enough to hit ground and explode right near Nagi and make her fall back, once again. Vegeta took advantage of Nagi's flailing position, not to get in an attack, but to get back up on his feet himself, despite the fact that he had to do it slowly, grimacing and struggling the whole way to go it. Nagi was also wincing in quite a bit of pain, though it seemed as if she wasn't quite in as bad a spot as Vegeta. Furthermore, she realized that he was also doing worse than her, and view it either way, as pathetic or heroic: the man won't give in.

_I'd better finish this fast,_ she finally decisively thought, deciding that it was time to destroy the Prince of all Saiyans once and for all, before he could end up doing said action to her. That's when she finally did draw her sword, after which that familiar spark of light formed, immediately prior to the multicolored beam. Vegeta saw it, and his eyes went wide for a second, not seeing what he was going to go at this point. He was too tired to charge up for another Final Flash, Gallic Gun, or Atomic Blast right now. And his Big Bang Attack was definitely out of the question. He needed at least a few minutes before he could ready himself to charge up for one of those attacks without being forced to sacrifice himself completely. And, to make things worse, the energy amplifier device wasn't here to aid him on this one. He began to mutter curses, both at Washu for not bringing it to him, and at himself for completely forgetting about it, which might be the reason for the first part in the first place. While doing so, Nagi's multicolored ball finally shot out into a full blown energy wave. Using that certain skill for the second time in this fight, Nagi was confident that this would be the final piece to this battle, and that she was rid of one more obstacle in her path towards revenge against that cabbit-injuring bitch Ryoko Hakubi.

"Haaaa!" a voice burst, which almost seemed as if it was actually two voices merging together, as if two people had fused together or something. As this screaming burst was heard, there was another energy wave, that was running sideways to intercept Nagi's. The crash that ensued between the two energy waves resulted in something called an explosion that was actually not close enough to Vegeta to harm him, only to force him to slide back a little while still on his two feet. Nagi scowled at the fact that she was just stopped from killing Vegeta, and looked diagonally to her front left, seeing that this was where the interfering blast came from.

"A kid?" is what she saw, and he was panting with his mouth wide open. He was wearing a strange-looking blue and yellow vest. Around his waist was a teal green sash (the color of Trunks' main outfit), along with white silky pants, dark shoes, and black wristbands. His hair style was a strange one indeed. Most of the hair black, but the sides and back were a purplish silvery color, and the hair was standing on end, as if this was some kind of Super Saiyan, except neither the hair nor the eyebrows (which were black) were yellow, and they eyes were black, not green.

"Ah… who the heck are you?" Nagi quickly demanded, looking at the child with an anger clad tone on her face. This prompted him to stop panting and turn towards Nagi with a clever smile on his face.

"Thanks for the respect," the kid said as he closed his eyes, an obvious piece of sarcasm, which ticked Nagi off, as apparent with her scowling face and clenched fist, all shaking in the anger. "Anyway, since you had to ask, I'll tell you. My name's Gotenks. I'm the fusion of Goten and Trunks. And if I'm right about this one, you're Nagi, the bounty hunter who's about to be finished and burned to a crisp." Now, a little staggering fear was mixed in with the anger in her reaction.

"Who the heck do you think you are? You're going down, you cocky kid!" Nagi seamlessly threatened, charging over to Gotenks in order to stab him with the sword. However, he managed to get behind her as she went for the cut, then locked her arm behind her back in a hammerlock.

"I see you've been taking a serious beating from my dad over there," Gotenks said, a partial reference to Trunks' father Vegeta, who in turn is the father of half of Gotenks. (did that make too much sense or no sense at all?) The smirk never left him as he spoke, and nor did Nagi's grimace. "Well, now you're about to see what it's like to get killed with no chance. Just like you did Krillin and Yamcha!"

And with a double axe handle straight to the head, he sent her sliding on her stomach. He then extended an arm towards her, shooting her with a ki wave that came out of said arm. In typical overconfident fashion, Gotenks smiled and folded his arms, then automatically said that it was over. Vegeta, however, would disagree.

"No, Gotenks! You may have damaged her, but she's still alive!" Vegeta shot, trying to warn him before he could end up getting taken by surprise. Surprisingly, the kid actually paid attention to him, turning around.

"Are you sure, dad?" Gotenks asked, the Trunks side obviously being the one that called him dad.

"Yes! Now stay on guard!" Vegeta yelled in hasty response. Gotenks actually heeded the warning for once and did keep himself on guard. That was proved unnecessary though, as Nagi was unable to stand up, reduced almost completely to being on her knees. It was completely disparaging if you were the queen of bounty hunting. She was actually beating herself up inside, ordering herself to stand, demanding to herself why can't she get up. It was her destiny to destroy Ryoko for what she'd done to Ken-Ohki, and even Ken-Ohki himself was in on it now! Why was she looking and feeling completely beaten on this one? In response to Nagi's defeated state, Gotenks allowed his ego to rise once again.

"Uh uh uh!" he chanted in a sing-song voice, infuriating her though she was in no position to show it. "Thought you were gonna get away with Krillin and Yamcha? Just because you hate Ryoko, that doesn't mean you can go around just killing anyone you want. If I remember right, I used to hear that you kept the rivalry between yourself and Ryoko before, and you didn't involve other people like that. Now you kill a couple of my friends to try and lure her out? I don't care about the Black Water, and I don't care about your new passion. All I care about, is that I'm ready to serve up some justice soup." It was right at this point that Gotenks and Vegeta noticed Raditz and Ryoko actually flying down to the scene. Jovially smiling at the sight before them - a damaged but fully standing Prince Vegeta, a near completely broken down Nagi, a confident Gotenks hovering above her (though Ryoko couldn't tell who the kid was) - they came down to Vegeta and asked him exactly what went down here.

"Easy. She actually… gave me a challenge, then Gotenks came to finish her off," Vegeta replied simply, that momentary stall coming from the fact that he was still struggling through some pain. This actually concerned them a little bit, but not enough for them to make any kind of noticeable reaction. "By the way, Ryoko, tell me one thing: where's Tenchi?"

"Huh? Oh, he's training at the Masaki shrine," Ryoko answered, her voice trailing away with each word as she thought of the love of her life. She wondered now if he even missed her at the moment. But just as quickly, Raditz snapped his fingers in front of her, effectively snapping her out of it in more ways than one. Right then and there, Raditz and Ryoko turned to Gotenks - who was actually distracted by their presence - and the downed Nagi.

"Hey, kid. Mind telling me who you are? I haven't seen you around," Ryoko asked as she and Raditz walked over to the fused half-Saiyan.

"That's Gotenks. Goten and Trunks fused together. Vegeta told me about, and I saw it in a crystal ball once," Raditz explained.

"Oh. Well, Gotenks, I've gotta say. Good job taking care of Nagi. But the last slash is for me to take and for you to watch out about," Ryoko warned him, the seriousness and sternness that came on her face being reflected in her voice when she said the last sentence. "Finally, some closure. Especially after that terrible think you did."

Obviously, the crew of darkness on the Ken-Souja was not pleased at all with the scene that was going on down there. Nagi was being proven to be a complete no-chance loser. But not against Vegeta. More like against the decision that this kid made to beat the holy tar out of her after she'd already gone through a battle with the Prince of all Saiyans, one of the most elite fighters in the universe.

"That's it. No longer are we going to tolerate this nonsense. Or, specifically, no longer am I going to tolerate this rubbish," Kagato said, a dark tone and an angry expression showing in his voice and face respectively as he watched in sickness of the way that fight suddenly changed tide.

"What do you plan to do about it?" Cell asked. It was obvious that he was trying to hold back some frustration of his own. He had put so much effort into getting Nagi on their team, because he truly believed in her motivation, and in her reason. He saw something in her, something which could possibly make her have more impact than anyone else on the team, including himself. And now, to see her about to die at the hands of this kid fusion was… not the most favored circumstances. _All that work for nothing! Imagine!_

"I'm moving out," Kagato replied instantaneously using military terms, with his voice equally militant. "It's about time I stop this fight… before the negative result is reaped."

Upon the speaking of those words, the Ruins Buster teleported out of the Ken-Souja.

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Gotenks: "You're not getting away from us, Nagi!"

-Ryoko: "Getting away? Not a chance, kid! There's no way I'm letting her slip after killing people just because she hates me!"

-Kagato: "That's what you think."

-Nagi: "Kagato?"

-Vegeta: "In case you haven't noticed, you egomaniac, I'm fighting here!"

-Raditz: "Wait a minute. Kagato? Why the heck are you here?"

-Kagato: "I'm challenging two of you to meet me at the site of Vegeta's battle with Nagi, so pick a great tag team and prepare them for battle."

-Videl: "He wants a great tag team? I got an idea that'll give it to him!"

-Sakuya: "Next on **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, a fighting decision is made in **Chapter 16: Kagato's Challenge**. Don't beat him for me, this time; beat him for Yugi!"


	16. Kagato’s Challenge

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Grand Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: I was hoping the Gotenks run in would be longer than it was. But, I guess I have to make due and live due.

**Chapter 16: Kagato's Challenge.**

Raditz saw something familiar about this land. For one, the sky and the grass - well, whatever of the grass hadn't been destroyed apart by the battle between Nagi and Vegeta - somehow looked, seemed, felt familiar, as if he had been here at this very spot before. What's more, he could vaguely smell something about this place that told him… some blood has actually been shed here in the recent past… more like over the past quarter century. But the blood he seemed to sense deep within the earth was no ordinary blood. It wasn't something like a civil war between two earth nations saw a battle in which many soldiers died here. It would have been more obvious to him and everyone else, but at the same time, the smell wouldn't have been as significant. It almost felt like… his, and… Kakarot's. As he looked on, amazed and confused at what exactly was it about this place which made him feel like he'd seen it before, Ryoko looked at him quizzically, wonder exactly what in the world was up with him. Meanwhile, Vegeta knew exactly what was going on, for he had seen proof of exactly what told him that this should be familiar to the other Saiyan. The pain from the Nagi battle having mostly subsided at the moment, Vegeta was content and able to walk closer to the place where Gotenks, Ryoko, and Raditz were. After they turned to him, he followed up by knocking on Raditz' forehead three times, to really get his attention, riling him up a little bit in the process.

"You mind telling me exactly what was the meaning of that?" Raditz immediately yelled at his former leader.

"Wake up!" Vegeta instructed in reply, pointing in the direction of a certain circular object or structure with a red circular window right on the front, on what they could barely (from this distance) figure out was its door. Raditz then realized exactly what was so familiar about this place.

"Wait a second, that's my ship!" Raditz burst as he finally realized what it was. Ryoko couldn't understand what he meant, for that wasn't exactly the kind of ship she was used to seeing.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on. Hold the phones here," she cut in, coming in front of Raditz. She wanted answers, and she wanted them now. "You mean to tell me, that that's the kind of ship you got here in? I don't see any kind of fire or power this thing can possibly have."

"What's that supposed to matter when a Saiyan spaceship has extreme speed, can automatically steer itself to its destination, and can withstand pretty much anything?" Vegeta asked, remembering enough about the ships of his planet to explain it, as well as enough about Raditz and his own Saiyan pride to interfere before the guy's ego and temper could explode in a blow. Meanwhile, Ryoko was amazed.

"Whoa. If the ship's that good, no wonder it isn't armed," she barely managed to say.

"Hey, look!" Gotenks shouted immediately, pointing in Nagi's direction… wait, where was she? "She's trying to get away!"

Oh, yeah. That's what's happening. As the group looked in the bounty hunter's direction, they saw that she was still struggling with her own injuries, but that she was actually starting to escape. She managed to get in about a few yards, alternating between walking and crawling.

"Grrr… no way, Nagi! If you think I'm gonna let you slip after what you did, you're sorely mistaken!" Ryoko shouted, after which she got into blast position, and a red blast of energy start flowing from her hands. "This is it, you piece of trash. Finally, I'm rid of your ass on my tail. Haaaa!" And with that scream, she released the blast straight towards with full intent and confidence that it was going to hit her and finish her off. However, she found out for a fact that it would fail, but a green wave of energy arrived from above and perpendicularly intercepted Ryoko's wave perfectly, causing an explosion which fell well short of the intended target.

Once the smoke cleared, there were four good guys on one side, and one bad character on the other. All five of them, however, were as surprised as one another that the bad character hadn't been burned to a crisp yet. One of the good characters, Ryoko Hakubi, officially got mad at this point, the usual clenched fist and seriously mad face cursing her otherwise magnetic (not literally) features once again.

"Would somebody hurry up and tell me why she's still alive?" she immediately shot in reference to the bad character, which was obviously Nagi, the darkly reformed bounty hunter on the other side. But Nagi suddenly realized something, figured out who must have been behind that blast. The words she uttered next were just barely noticed by Ryoko, but did indeed send shockwaves through the former space pirate:

"Wait a sec… Kagato?"

The minute she heard those words from Nagi, a swirl of counterproductive emotions surged within Ryoko. Among these emotions rested sadness, anger, betrayal, rage, fear, shock, unfriendly awareness… let's just say that she was shocked and appalled with absolutely no clue initially what to do about it. This distressing sensation only heightened itself as soon, in front of each and every one of the participants in this scene, facing the heroes, the Ruins Buster himself suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Grrr… Kagato! What the heck are you doing here?" Ryoko shot with venom in her words, as she internally kept a severe objection to the idea of ever having to see that smirking, calculating, conniving demon again, and intended to be pretty damn vocal about it via both words and actions.

"In case you haven't noticed, you egomaniac, I'm trying to finish a fight here!" Vegeta added, angry at Kagato as well, though not quite as much (how is it possible to be as angry at Kagato as Ryoko is?) and for a completely different reason.

"Actually, Vegeta, from the looks of it, you were not the one finishing the fight. Had you been, Nagi would have cooked you with that blast that the fuse boy interfered in, leaving you either severely injured or dead… a perfect reason for Bulma Briefs to show her tears more than she ever had before in her life," Kagato corrected Vegeta, retaining his usual cool demeanor. It sickened Ryoko even more to see that Kagato was still his same old self, still having no qualms about doing things just the way he wanted them done. Moreover, it sickened Vegeta that Kagato had actually learned about his wife, (as if that was supposed to be a shock, which it wasn't since Cell is on his side) and had the nerve to put her name in his mouth.

"Don't you ever talk about my mom, 'kay?" Gotenks warned the vile and powerful scientist before him, the Trunks side prompting that response once more, before charging up a ki blast, to which Kagato responded by forming his own trademark plasma sword, except it was green and had the length of a European long sword. As soon as it was within striking distance, Kagato slashed the beam, and just like that, it became no more. This utterly surprised Gotenks, who saw that his attack was futile.

"Now, don't assume that one angry energy blast will ever work on me," Kagato then advised all of the heroes, specifically Gotenks, the one who fired the blast. "As for why I came down here, obviously it was to stop the fight. I want to keep all of my allies intact, so that we may have the best chance of completely trouncing you, before we get rid of your useless planet forever. However, that doesn't mean that I'm limiting my arrival to just that purpose. Rather, I have a specific… challenge, per se, that you might want to speak about to all your friends."

"Okay, speak up! Cause I don't have all day to listen to you!" Ryoko finally shouted at the top of her lungs. If there was yin and yang, then there was love and loathe. If there was love and loathe, then she loved Tenchi… and she **_loathed_** Kagato. As correct and on target as that is, even that is an understatement.

"Why, I'm deeply saddened, Ryoko. That used to be our tradition. You would endlessly listen to me, thanks to the likeness in our body structures and my awesome mental willpower, doing my bidding and destroying for me at my every whim and command," Kagato recalled emotionlessly, still keeping on his same cold and seemingly egotistical smile of death. This stirred up even more anger from within each and every one of the heroes that stood before him. "But not because you were in love with me: oh, it was far from that, and it always will be. It was because I was just that good."

"Yeah, you're that good at being a bother, because you're beginning to piss me off!" Raditz shot in annoyed fury, getting severely tired of this guy, before forming two blasts of energy within his hands. He then threw the waves together, calling out the words "Double Sunday" as he did so. Kagato then used his power to form a barrier around himself, which killed the two highly charged energy waves the minute they touched it. Meanwhile, through this response, he realized something critical, that he could most definitely use against the heroes.

"Raditz, am I sensing a little sweet frustration?" the egotistical scientist with the "god-like brain" asked, testing the formerly considered low-level Saiyan warrior a little bit. "Are you, by any chance… getting tired of me talking about Ryoko's subservience to me?"

"Quiet!" Vegeta forcibly cut in, stretching an arm out in front of Raditz so as to block him or as to say "I'm talking here!". "First, Nagi tries to put this scenario into my mind. Then, you have the gall to mention my wife's name! And now, you're throwing this space pirate's history with you in her face, and the minute Raditz makes a reply, you repeat Nagi's call? I'm not tolerating this! Do you hear me, Kagato? You're going to be finished by my hand!"

"Let me guess: "I'm the Prince of all Saiyans! So much dishonor does not deserve to be spoken before me! Prepare to die!" Is that what you were getting ready to say?" Kagato guessed, as though he had known Vegeta his entire life and heard him say that a million times. Seeing that he was absolutely correct on the matter, Vegeta had no choice but to keep his angry face on, his reply being pointless now that Kagato knew it. Smirking, Kagato thought of how good it was that he had Cell on his side to tell him this kind of information. He could work with it and defeat Vegeta at his own forte, though not doing it in the same manner like Nagi was doing.

"Now, I shall finally get to the second reason for which I came here," he continued. "It's very simple, really. I'm issuing a challenge to you and to your friends. Choose two of your most brilliant fighters to meet me tomorrow, here, at three o'clock in the afternoon. If your grand tag team does not arrive by that time, then by my signal, my allies will begin decimating the planet, the main cannon of the Ken-Souja being the main weapon of mass destruction. If your team does arrive, even if they prove futile enough for me to kill, we will not destroy the planet. We will merely destroy your homes, leaving you all in your unworthiness to become desert nomads if you must." He then turned behind him, and saw that Nagi was back up on her feet, paying attention to everything that he was saying. _Good, Nagi. You will be able to give this information to Cell and Garlic Jr., enabling me to concentrate more on preparing for the fight._

"Come, Nagi. Let's go," he finished. He walked over to her, after which both vanished into thin air. The good guys were caught growling, asking who does that Kagato think he is, and how could they have just let Nagi get away. However, it was during this process, that a certain someone arrived via instant transmission.

"Kakarot," Raditz acknowledged as he saw his brother, with a most serious look on his face.

"I sensed them leave," Goku explained, seeing the others gone. "What happened?"

"No one was killed, unfortunately," Vegeta answered his friend and erstwhile rival's question in complete seriousness. However, knowing that Vegeta wasn't a cold and ruthless person anymore, Goku didn't take it seriously, and actually burst out in laughter. That was until Vegeta punched him in the face, telling him to shut up. "I was not kidding, Kakarot! Someone was supposed to die in this battle, that someone being Nagi! But instead, Gotenks had to come in and get in the way!"

"What?" the fusion child shouted in disbelief. "Help me out a little here! She was shooting that blast at you! You would've been killed if I didn't come in!"

"Be quiet, and pay attention for once, boy! While she was getting ready to blast me with that thing, I was silently swearing at myself and at Washu over not having the energy device," Vegeta began, successfully shutting the boy up and causing everyone to do as he had told Gotenks to do: pay attention. "Through that, I actually realized that as battered as my body was, I still had something left, enough to completely overtake her blast and kill her with if I was willing to pass out and go to sleep for a couple of hours. But before I could begin to charge my attack, you had to butt in with your stupid interception!"

"Wait a minute! Why didn't you tell me any of this before?" Gotenks asked.

"It was too late, you never asked, and I didn't want to needlessly embarrass you directly in front of our enemies!" the Prince finally screamed at the product of a fusion which included his own son.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down! We have more important things to worry about!" Goku cut in immediately, getting in front of Vegeta and waving both of his hands in his face.

"What could be more important than the fact that I lost the chance to destroy Nagi?" Vegeta and Ryoko both yelled simultaneously towards Goku, seeing as how they both had different opportunities and both lost them because of interference.

"How about that challenge and ultimatum that Kagato threw out there for us?" Raditz reminded them immediately, in effect stopping each little tirade that did or was about to pass at this spot. Upon hearing those words, Goku looked confused. He didn't know what they were talking about, exactly.

"Wait a minute… ultimatum and challenge?" he finally asked.

"Yes. Kagato actually made a challenge. He wants two of us to fight him here at three o'clock tomorrow, or else his allies are going to destroy this planet little by little," Raditz informed him in basic tone.

"Okay. No time to waste, so we've got to decide quickly where we want to go first," Goku decided. They had numerous destinations filled with friends they want and need to tell about this. It was also around this time that the fusion broke between Goten and Trunks, and they went back to being… well, Goten and Trunks.

"Daddy!" each of the kids called while running to his respective dad. Each of the fathers, in reply, took his own leaping son into his arms and onto his shoulder. Trunks looked to his father and apologized for messing up, to which Vegeta had no choice but to smile. This was his son, and he loved him, and he saw mighty things in his future. Though in Vegeta's more selfish days, it used to be completely different, now it was just that simple.

"So, are you guys ready to go?" Goku finally asked, putting his right index and middle fingers over his forehead, positioning himself to be able to focus on the location to which he would go with his instant transmission technique. With nods and murmurs, the others came to Goku and made sure they made physical contact with him or one another. After a few seconds, he finally made up his mind as to where they were going, visualized it in his head, and disappeared from this spot, reappearing at that spot.

There were spectators to this entire scene, however. Looking through the Old Kai's crystal ball, the two Supreme Kais and the Madri Scholar were watching this battle and paying close attention to it at the land of the Kais. And rest assured, they had great opinions on the matter.

"Hmm… based on how effective Vegeta proved to be against Nagi, leaving both himself and Ryoko squandered opportunities to finish her off, I feel a little bit more optimistic," the Madri Scholar admitted with a small smile forming on his studious features.

"Yes. I will agree with you, but I refuse to become overconfident. The fact is, Nagi is still alive, and therefore, the enemies are still as powerful as ever," the Elder Kai stated, reminding us all of the bad part of this whole thing. "But I really think we should have a hand in the discussion as to who is going to be chosen to fight Kagato."

"That's true. I already have an idea as to who to suggest," Kibitoshin revealed, starting to intrigue his fellow friends in high places. "I believe that the best option for the group to choose would be Goku and Vegeta. Seeing as how they know each other so well, they can work off of each other and work as the perfect well-oiled machine, giving Kagato quite a few problems to deal with."

"Yes, but on the other hand, Vegeta does not have the power to become a Super Saiyan 3. And we don't know which, if any, of the other three villains serve as any indication of how strong Kagato is. If Cell, whom I can assume from what I've seen is the most like Kagato, is the strongest indication of Kagato's power, then we should not be going merely by chemistry alone, but also by effective individual power. And if you want to talk to me about Potara fusion earrings: not only would Goku and Vegeta's foolish Saiyan pride not allow them to go through with it, we simply don't have enough," the Elder Kai said matter-of-factly. The others were quite impressed, once again, at the venerable elder's vast knowledge on the situation at hand. "By the way, where have our two friends been lately?"

"For a moment, I thought you were talking about the one at the shed, but I realize you said _two_ friends. I haven't seen either of them very much today," the Madri Scholar said, his statement _eventually_ answering the old man's question. Just then, a voice called to the Madri Scholar and the Kais in the background:

"Hey, Scholar! Kais! Anything major happened today?" the voice asked. Immediately once they heard it, they immediately recognized who it belonged to: that bald, three-eyed monk-like warrior, Tien Shinhan. Shortly after having visited the Son family and tried helping Gohan with his school homework one time, Tien and Chiaotzu had decided that it would be best for them if they had gone to the sacred land of the Kais, to train under the Kais and to actually have some company to help them lead their lives. Tien and Chiaotzu were walking over to the Kais and the Scholar at this point.

"Yes! Something did happen! Come over here and we'll tell you about it," Kibitoshin answered. Once Tien and Chiaotzu finally got there and sat down with the Kais and the Scholar around the crystal ball, Kibitoshin explained to them exactly what had happened, that being the fight between Vegeta and Nagi, the numerous interferences, and the challenge laid down by Kagato towards the heroes for tomorrow.

"Whoa. That's serious!" Tien exclaimed, expressing the obvious first thought immediately. "So, who do you think they'll choose?"

"I don't know who they will choose, but Kibitoshin here thinks they should use Goku and Vegeta,"

"No, I think I know a better possibility: Vegeta and Washu," the Madri Scholar began. This was not your ordinary idea for a fighting combination, so of course, there was some surprise on the others' faces. "From what I understand, I believe Washu has created a device, with the help of Vegeta, Bulma, and Dr. Briefs, that allows for, um… restorative energy amplification. They've already established that with this device applied to Vegeta, he can be the strongest, and/or the most resilient fighter one has ever seen, allowing him to be able to destroy Kagato alone, with the assistance of Washu."

"What?" Tien asked, exclaiming in shock. He knew Vegeta was strong, and that Washu was a super genius. He'd even heard of the device before. But that wasn't enough - not nearly enough - to explain why Vegeta with Washu's aid would be a perfect combination to kill Kagato. Rather, all the Madri Scholar had done just now was raise questions as to exactly how it all fits, and as the three-eyed former student of the evil Crane Hermit style would find, he knew, was prepared for, and set up this exact confusion within Tien, only to break it down instantly with only an example, as written below.

"Vegeta can now recklessly use his Final Explosion sacrifice attack without dying, at least twice a battle, as long as Washu uses the device on him within the right margin of time. Meanwhile, it is an almost guarantee that those enemies wouldn't be able to take the first one, and no one could survive through two of those bursts of power."

"You would actually support this crazy move?" Tien asked in realization of exactly how insane this scenario seemed to be. _Sacrificing himself with only a button's chance that it wasn't a true sacrifice after all? Now I've seen everything._

"Believe me, I'd be a lot more comfortable about Final Explosion if that awesome release of power didn't require he expend every piece of his energy. But it does, and it currently is our best hope. Therefore, we have to just live with it," the Madri Scholar said, admitting in essence that this idea wasn't even 100 percent comforting to him, the ever wise one that suggested it. "But if I could choose another tag team, it would probably be… Gotenks and Goku. The concentration of two Super Saiyan 3 powers would probably be too great for even Kid Buu to handle, let alone Kagato."

"Are you saying that Kagato isn't stronger than Kid Buu?" Kibitoshin asked, hope of a "yes" flowing from him as he quickly read the last part of the statement.

"Well…" he began, building up the suspense as well as giving himself a few seconds to think about the words to his answer. "Overnight, I've gauged up the threat coming from the combined power of the Souja. I was able to differentiate between what was directly flowing from the Souja and the forces that were hidden within it. I could easily sense that these forces were the four serving as the critical threat to the universe, and two of them, Cell and Kagato, had the most devastatingly powerful auras of all. It is a toss-up between the two of them, but neither one is all the way quite as strong as Kid Buu… physically, that is. However, they have demonstrated that they are complete heels on this one. They refuse to fight with niceness and honor of any sort. They scheme to meet their ends, and they scheme endlessly, whereas Kid Buu… all he could do was fight and kill. I heard the threat from Kagato that if we don't send warriors strong enough not to be killed, then there will be destruction. I believe him to a certain extent, but I'm convinced that at this point they're just gauging power, because Kagato's words indicate that the next battle, like all the others so far, shouldn't be a fight to the death. Kagato, the Muyo realm's evil genius, is at the top of his game, and must not be underestimated by any heights, especially with the partners that he's made. He may not be as physically mobile and strong as Kid Buu, an extremely difficult task to accomplish even if it's possible, but in a battle, with his quick thinking, there's chance he could turn Kid Buu to chop suey. And that's the truth!"

Meanwhile…

"…and that's why we need you guys to come with us to the Masaki house, so that we can discuss it all together and make up our minds," Goku finished, standing outside the Kame House at Master Roshi's island. The audience before him that he was addressing consisted and speaking to Roshi and pretty much everybody that lived in his place with him, including Eighteen, who had packed up and gone back to Roshi's place shortly after her previous visit with Bulma.

"So, Kagato's thrown out a challenge for a specific two of us, huh?" Eighteen repeated so as to help it sink in a little, with her little daughter Marron on her shoulder. "Send us there immediately. We need to go there and choose who will battle, and we need to choose them **now**, so that they can get ready more. (looks to Marron) Don't worry, hon. We're talking about trying to make those bad men go away. And I know a really good friend I want to talk to, and if I know where my friends are, I'll see her."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go already! I can't wait to see that pretty honey-eyed one!" Master Roshi exclaimed, followed immediately by his bad laugh. While Oolong reiterated that the old man was pathetic, the irritated look immediately came to the face of Eighteen, after which she smacked the bald pervert wise man in the back of his head.

"You idiot," she said almost yelling as he tried to cover the bump on his head. "That honey-eyed one happens to be the friend I'm talking about to my daughter. If I catch you so much as trying to touch her, I'll make sure you wish you were never born. Got it?" The combination of scared-ness and pain made it be that while favoring his head, Roshi actually managed a nod. Eighteen turned to Goku, to whom she was addressing the next part. "Other than the fact that I don't know whether he really got the point, I think we're ready to go."

"Great," Goku replied as he walked over to Eighteen and the others. Making sure they all established contact with one another and/or Goku, they awaited his focusing into position, which would be followed by the teleporting. The location everyone ended up at: right outside the front entry door of the Masaki house. What's more is, they weren't the only ones there. Everyone from the Masaki household, the Son family home, Capsule Corporation (even Dr. and Mrs. Briefs), the majestic house of Hercule, and now Roshi's island (with the exception of the turtle) was there and prepared for discussion of the action. Basically, this was the second conglomeration of all the good guys. They were all having discussions amongst themselves, whilst Washu and Bulma stood at the center of it all. The impressive thing about it was, Washu and Bulma actually both had microphones, and there were speakers installed all over the place. But knowing these two, there is no sense in assuming that they expected or wanted the entire world to hear about another threat of darkness.

"I'm gonna go look for Ryoko," Eighteen decided, wandering in the crowd in search of her new friend. Master Roshi gave a sly grin to Goku, telling him exactly what his teacher was planning to do and sending him into an innocent sheepish grin. As the obviousness of his course of action also sickened his loyal pet-people living with him in his house, Roshi walked off after Eighteen. This gave Goku free room to walk over to Bulma and Washu.

"Hey, girls. I've got everyone," he finally notified.

"Wait a minute. What about those green guys from the Guardian's Lookout?" Washu asked, remembering them well enough to ask about them. Suddenly, in front of them appeared Piccolo, Mr. Popo, Earth's planet guardian Namek Dende, the Supreme Kais, the Madri Scholar, _Tien Shinhan, and Chiaotzu?_

"Whoa! Tien! I didn't know you were with the Kais!" Goku exclaimed in happiness at seeing his old friend.

"Goku! I can see you haven't changed a bit," Tien chuckled, ignoring the marks and sharing in the reunion joy. He then noticed that Goku was standing alongside two women… specifically, _those_ two women. Those two super genius women, to be exact. "So, let me guess: you're controlling this session?"

"We sure are," Washu boasted proudly with her eyes closed, before her face turned serious. (Through telepathic contact with Ryoko, Washu saw that she was speaking to Eighteen, and immediately right afterwards, that she was being fondled by a perverted old man.) At first assuming it to be Katsuhito, she opened her eyes and wound up quickly brushing it off once she saw him standing alongside Sakuya, Tenchi, and Ayeka, who were socializing amongst themselves, Ayeka's ego shooting out as usual. Right then, she realized that it had to be the other one. Not wanting this annoying turn of events to continue at her daughter's expense, and seeing as how everyone was here, she was ready to start the "outside conference". Which she immediately did so, by stopping each individual conversation and happening right off the bat with the immediate order of **"QUIET!"** blaring over the loudspeakers, with Washu's mouth hovering over the microphone in her hand.

As soon as she said this, all became silent and turned towards Washu, Bulma, and Goku, who were indeed the head coordinators of this meeting. All three of them had the most serious of looks on their faces, clearly showing that this was all business.

"Now, we all know the situation as Goku told it to us! Kagato has decided to challenge any two of us to fight him tomorrow at three o'clock! By now, you all know where I'm going with this. We need to pick and choose who's fighting, and we have no choice but to do it as quickly as possible so that they can get ready!" Bulma shot on her microphone, reviewing the situation at the point where it was now. "So, now that we have it established what we're here for, let's get this started. Now, most of us are not kids anymore, so this might be a little annoying, but there's a floating white "ghost microphone" around here that will float to you once you raise your hand. While the flying ghost mike is with you, it's your turn to speak, so make it quick."

"Oh, yeah, I need to cut in and say something right now," Washu remembered, doing exactly what she said she needed to do. She then looked in the direction of a certain trio of figures. "I see that Master Roshi over there is still up to his old tricks, and my single greatest creation of all time, Ryoko, has caught his eye just a little too much. Well, here's one question for you, Roshi: what would you do if that happened to you?" Right then, many of the others cheered, knowing about the perverted old man theory - via seeing it from either of the four (Roshi, Nobuyuki, the Old Kai, and occasionally even Katsuhito) and wanting to see them get theirs for it one time. "Ryoko, make sure you hold him back, because at the end of this, (smirks) the Turtle Hermit is getting raped by science." And so, once again, the majority of the group was sent into cheers at the idea that he was getting what was coming to him. Meanwhile, Goku had tapped Bulma on the shoulder and extended his palm in the direction of her hand, motioning for the microphone held within its grasp. She gave the mike to him, and he held it up to himself, finally ready to speak.

"Okay, guys. We've had our fun moment for the day, now let's get to our serious issue at hand," Goku said. After this, it took many minutes, as many of the champions on this side of the deal had their ideas, agreements, and/or disagreements as far as who to put on the battlefield against the scientific destroyer known only as Kagato.

The Madri Scholar and the Kais repeated their ideas, all of them getting a good accord, especially from Vegeta as he heard the Scholar's idea for Vegeta and Washu to team up. This was not to be true for Eighteen, whose drive and call for vengeance against Kagato for terrorizing her propelled her to suggest herself and Ryoko to be the team to face the minister of darkness. Immediately condescending towards the plot was Piccolo, who judged based on history that he was a bit stronger than Eighteen, and he couldn't even see himself standing a great deal of chance against something as powerful as Kagato, which sparked his reasoning that she could possibly get killed, resulting in the destruction of the group's homes according to Kagato's promise. Chichi suggested that her husband and their eldest son go into battle against Kagato, knowing that their power was immense, and that they had awesome chemistry as fighters, but Goku himself surprisingly declined, saying no because Cell knew them on the battlefield based from that fight at the Son home, and could easily have been giving Kagato pointers on how to defeat them.

There was even someone that vouched for Yugi going into this battle, to confront the one villain in the Masaki household's history to have been more of a threat than her. And big, bubbly, innocent Mr. Majin Buu, having reformed a while back as well, although via very much different means, was suggested as her partner. The once secluded playful child formerly known as or considered the icy one neither accepted nor declined for herself or for the big fat Buu, opting not to appear pompous after the actions she had committed in the past. Rather, she placed the Ayeka and Ryoko tag team into the discussion, which (despite their powers rivaling one another and even the SS2 a little bit when in full battle mode) was understandably very short-lived. Basically, the Kais' ideas were the best ones… until another one suddenly came up. Raditz raised his hand, the aforementioned means by which one may beckon Bulma and Washu's "ghost" microphone to come to them.

"Okay, Raditz. What have you got?" Washu asked, her voice full of optimistic confidence (as usual) which was now directed towards the Saiyan that escaped from Hell. The typical smile/smirk was placed on both their faces as the peeps were all in the mode of paying full attention to him.

"Well, first of all," he began his illustrious statement, "I wanted to begin by saying that your punishment for Master Roshi, giving him a taste of his own medicine, is nothing short of absolutely awesome."

"Thank you," she replied, closing her eyes in all her boundless self-confidence as the majority of their peers turned into fans and cheered once again. At this point, Ryoko was holding Roshi's arm behind his back, not allowing him to move to escape her grasp at all. It took a little bit of a while for them to quiet down so that Raditz could continue speaking.

"Well, now that that's over, I'd like to finally suggest an idea slightly inspired by Vegeta," Raditz continued. This put the same proud smirk on the face of the Prince of Saiyans, for right then, he had at least an idea what Raditz was talking about, and he was damn proud of it. "The way I see it, out of all the teams that have been mentioned, none are more noteworthy than the unit of Tenchi and Gohan. Remember, they trained at the Hyperbolic Time Chamber just a few days back, and both came back out much more mature and prepared for battle, and for life, than they came in. You have to think that by that time, they've become very good friends, and they know each other in battle well enough to fight an opponent together like a regular tag team. And it's already been proven that their individual power has improved greatly since then as well, although the exact extent to which Tenchi grew up in power is unknown. Therefore, I've determined that there is no better team to take on Kagato. He didn't absolutely say that he plans on killing anyone. In fact, he said something along the lines of not expecting a circumstance by which death is a cruel reality for someone, unless we want our homes destroyed as well."

"From the sounds of it, he's obviously been using these first few fights just so see how strong we all have become," Vegeta cut in to add his few cents, "and he doesn't intend to kill anyone in the challenge he's laid for us. Therefore, there's only one course of action we could possibly undertake, and that is to send our best double team on him so that we can destroy him! Gohan and Tenchi it is, and I couldn't agree more!"

Both of the chosen young men were left unable to respond. They were ensconced in a strange silence, somewhat stunned at the fact that they were momentously chosen to be the main heroes of the world once again, but neither of them about to refuse this opportunity. This was something they both wanted to do, and they were going to work hard to do it, even if it was their last act. Kagato and the rest of the dark four were making life difficult for them and their friends, if not miserable, and it was now their job to end that synthetic rogue once and for all. Between the concentrated silence in contemplation of their awesome opportunity, and their friends' cheering one last time in this meeting just because of this decision by two noble Saiyans whose confidence was fully extended towards them, neither they nor anyone else heard Goku's call that there was no need for coming on stage and throwing a big speech.

Later on at night, whilst everyone else went or stayed home, Tenchi and Gohan, with the company of their girlfriends, flew off to the site of Raditz' first arrival (with directions from Raditz and assistance from the Nimbus in transporting Tenchi and Sakuya), where Vegeta had fought Nagi earlier today and where the boys were going to battle Kagato tomorrow. Looking up at the sky, the two warriors thought of the day they had ahead of them. Underneath not a starry sky like this one, but a sunny and partly cloudy sky, this new great tag team of the world was going to defend it against one of its deepest threats, Kagato. Mixed between thoughts of tomorrow and gazing at the beautiful stars were the two girls they held tenderly underneath their arms, who had insisted on coming with them despite the fact that they planned on training here.

"Gohan?" Videl called softly as she and he turned to look at one another, a look of purity and happiness emanating from each other.

"Yes?" he replied in a question's manner, prompting and encouraging her towards the statement she was about to say next.

"You'll get Kagato and you'll get him good, right?" she finally asked, retaining some softness while she referred to Kagato. "Because I seriously don't like that guy." He could see the confidence she had in him through the sound of her voice, and that only inspired him more. When Videl was counting on him like this, not as part of a crowd, but just as Videl, it was that much greater a motivation for him to do his best… especially when what he was about to do his best at was finish off an evil that could easily finish her off if he didn't. That thought entered him as well, making him get even more serious. At the same time, it increased his smile, because the increase in his sense of urgency was relative to the girl in his arms. And so, he smiled.

"You can bet we'll make him go away. I'll personally assure to that," he in turn finally replied, an aura of sincerity flowing within him. Memories and future dreams that reek of awesomeness and set the table for what is now considered the best finally motivated Videl and Gohan to engage in a slow, peaceful, passionate embrace and kiss, and while she had to admit that it was somewhat out of character for her to engage in a moment such as this, she wouldn't trade this feeling, the emotion of love in its completely un-fightable nature, for all the realms in the universe. If she was ever thought of as evil by anyone she ever got bossy with, this was the completion of the argument that she's not. But not that that last statement had any point to it.

Looking on at this scene, Tenchi and Sakuya reminisced and contemplated upon their own relationship, including how far they'd come in just a short college trip, how they were almost separated forever, and how Yugi, in all her apologetic splendor and wonder, released Sakuya from within once again and severed the ties that bound the happy Kumashiro Kid to her maker completely, thus putting that "almost" in the sentence. Finally, upon remembering that both of them were listed as major marks on Kagato's hit list, they realized how imperative it was that Tenchi finish him off and significantly dent the dark forces. For if he failed to do so, there would be a couple, maybe even themselves, that wound wind up stopped - by the administrators of pain and misery - from ever enjoying a moment like this again. Right then and there, Tenchi's face was on the verge of going into all seriousness mode, but that was until Sakuya looked at him, with that same peaceful cheerfulness that almost always graced her face and made her seem even more beautiful than she was. But in almost an instant, a look of seriousness, the likes of which was just about to enter Tenchi himself until she looked at him, came onto her features.

"Listen to me, Tenchi," she finally spoke. "Yesterday, Yugi had a nightmare. In it, we were all happy and relaxed, until those monsters came and threatened to put her back in the dark. I don't know if she told you about it yet, but she was scared all morning long. It took me awhile to comfort her in the end. Please tell me that you'll be able to-"

"Shhh," Tenchi sounded, cutting her off and putting his index finger over her mouth. "Just like you told me back that day under the cherry blossoms, you don't have to say anything. I know how you feel. And believe me, I'm doing everything in my power tomorrow to destroy Kagato."

"Don't do it for me, though," she cut in. "Do it for Yugi. Do it so that she can remain at peace." Once hearing how she cared so much about Yugi despite the fact that her origin as the physical form of the kid's shadow had caused her pain upon realization, Tenchi's notion that there was more to Sakuya than her love for him was nothing short of affirmed. But then came the moment in time when he had to stop the moment of emotion on his own end, and finally get to the training at hand, the final preparations for him and his newfound tag team partner Gohan to defeat that God Ego Man once and for all. As Gohan and Videl had already done by now, Tenchi and Sakuya separated as far as physical contact was concerned, and the boys finally walked off for their last piece of training before the colossal battle set for tomorrow. As Videl walked over to Sakuya, however, something sparked within her. With the though of _I've got it!_ in her head, Videl stood right beside Sakuya, then put a hand on the shadow girl's shoulder, after which the two both turned around in one another's direction.

"Don't tell them this… _yet_, because I want them to finish their training, but I just got an awesome idea," she revealed, making sure to speak softly (though not in the same way as before) so as to ensure that Gohan and Tenchi couldn't hear a bit of this.

"What is it?" Sakuya asked in equal near-silence, understanding Videl's purpose and going along with it completely. The daughter of the great Mr. Satan then threw out a pretty darn confident smirk of her own.

"It kind of goes like this, Sakuya. If Kagato wants a great tag team, then we'll give him a great tag team. _Our_ great tag team."

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Kibitoshin: "So, Gohan and Tenchi have been chosen to fight Kagato?"

-Goku: "Yep. I think they're gonna do really well as a team. I mean, they both got considerably stronger to different degrees during the training in the Time Chamber, and they probably also developed quite the chemistry training together in there. Oh, and don't tell Master Roshi this, but I actually discussed it with Katsuhito."

-Kibitoshin: "Ha ha ha ha ha! Don't worry, Goku. My lips are sealed."

-Goku: "Yeah, well they also had a really good plan. Or should I say, their girlfriends did? Gohan told me about it."

-Videl: "Time to execute it to perfection. We'll take that snake man Kagato and make him wish he'd never been brought back!"

-Tenchi: "Next, on **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, Kagato, you'd better prepare to do what it says in the title of **Chapter 17: Meet Thy Opponents**."

-Gohan: "And rest assured, no one and nothing is gonna be destroyed on this planet, because this isn't going to be a cakewalk!"

-Kagato: "You may rest assured that I was never expecting one. At least, not after my words were spoken."


	17. Meet Thy Opponents

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Grand Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: By now, I know for a fact that you are all wondering exactly why I put "Ryoko-Raditz" in the summary if they weren't going to actually get together by some 16 chapters. Well, rest assured that… actually, rest assured of nothing. There's only one person I know in the world other than myself that after reading all 16 chapters that even can be completely certain of where I'm going with this.

**Chapter 17: Meet Thy Opponents.**

It was at this… somewhat glorious point in time that Goku and Chichi were at the table in the Son family home. Goku had already finished with five plates of Chinese rice, roast chicken, and roast beef (among sauces and other toppings), while Chichi was still working on her one plate, which was not nearly as full as any of his had been before he completely gobbled them all up in his typical Saiyan appetite. In the meantime, which happened to be about the only subject it could possibly be about at this point in time. Gohan.

"So, Chichi. You saw the battle the boys and I had against Cell, right?" he asked her casually. Not knowing where he was going with this, she merely nodded.

"Well, I know you can't sense powers, at least not very well, but based on what you saw, do you really think that Gohan and Tenchi can beat Kagato?" he asked. It was odd that Goku would be asking his wife a question like this, but her answer would be anything but. It would be completely typical Chichi.

"I can't believe you're actually asking me that question," she objected, her mood getting a little tense and mad. "Gohan is going to win. He and Tenchi are going to kill Kagato. After that, all his bad guy buddies are bound to follow suit. The universe will be safe, Gohan will get back to being a scholar, and nobody gets hurt or dies. It's that simple, really!"

"Gosh Chichi, does it really mean that much to you that Gohan becomes a scholar?" he actually managed to ask for some stupid reason, seeing as how she's been telling him that for ages and, which therefore makes him look stupid that he actually had a bad answer to that question.

"He will finish Kagato and the rest of those bad guys, then become a scholar, and that's the end of it!" Chichi yelled, getting up and slamming her hands on the table. "And yes, it means that much to me, because of something that obviously you don't understand, which is my desire for Gohan to be a good studious son and not end up in a gang!"

"But he won't end up in a gang! I promise!" he cried in immediate panic, backing up in his chair and waving his hands in front of her. Problem is, he backed up so much, he actually ended up falling down. Chichi slapped her forehead at that point in complete incredulousness. _Even dealing with that bullying tutor Mr. Shu wasn't this ridiculous! But that's probably because it was only for a few hours in one day…_

Shortly after this thought entered his wife's head, the legendary hero of the Dragon Ball realm got up and dusted himself off, but made sure to pick up the wooden chair he just backed up on. It was a little bit scratched from the fall, but fortunately it didn't break: if it had, Chichi would continue to be all over him about it.

"Well, Chichi. I'm headed off to the land of the Kais for a bit," he informed her. This left her gob smacked immediately.

"But… but Goku…!" Chichi needlessly and unsuccessfully tried to persuade him to stay, not being able to form a single good complaint against him going right now.

"Bye!" he finished, waving softly with his left hand as his right hand had its usual two fingers on his forehead. Following this, he went into instant transmission and within seconds (if not instantaneously as the name of the maneuver suggested) found himself at the sacred planet of the Supreme Kais, the one with a lilac colored sky which was completely void of cloud cover. Tien, Chiaotzu, and the Supreme Kais were there, trying to ease themselves in separate ways. Tien laid underneath a tree, his little emperor of a sidekick obviously alongside him. Just a few feet closer to Goku, the Supreme Kais were in meditative states. Not wanting to bother the Kais, Goku walked over to Tien and Chiaotzu, who both noticed him above them. Tien extended his arm forward towards Goku, who in turn extended his arm down, then after establishing a connection of the hands, was able to help Tien up to his feet.

"Goku. Good to see ya," Tien greeted with a smile on his face.

"So I see you guys are trying to relax before the big day tomorrow, aren't you?" Goku assumed, based on what he had seen earlier. Right then, Tien's smile quickly receded.

"Yeah. Trying is actually a good word to use," Tien revealed.

"Yeah, I can understand," Goku said, clearly sympathizing with his friend, before he got curious about something. "By the way, where's the Madri Scholar?"

"Oh, he left. I think he said something about going to meet a friend of his at a shed back on earth," Tien explained vaguely.

"A friend, huh? I'd sure like to know who that is," Goku decided, beginning to grow wary at this point. "Anyway, I came here to ask you a question. It's about the fight tomorrow. I need your honest opinion here, Tien. Who do you call favorites here?"

"Well, if Tenchi and Gohan really did do everything like they were supposed to do in the Room of Spirit and Time, and if they do everything like they're supposed to do when fighting Kagato, I think they have the chance to clean his clock before the battle even gets started," Tien replied, expressing a faith in Gohan and Tenchi that was reflective of pretty much a great mass among the others as well.

"That's true. But I still wouldn't underestimate Kagato. Based on the Madri Scholar's findings, I believe he's as good as Cell," Kibitoshin advised, having suddenly arisen from his meditative state after noticing Goku and Tien's conversation via hearing their conversation. At the moment, he was walking in their direction. "I still like the team's chances, though. I'd say there's about a 60-40 chance of Tenchi and Gohan defeating Kagato."

"I agree, Kibitoshin," Goku replied with a smile at hearing his friend's optimistic words. "They both got a lot stronger, to different degrees, when they were training at the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Also, there's the chemistry argument. Being in there a year, and training again tonight to be fully prepared, I think they know each other pretty well. Raditz made some good points. Now, as for the increase in Tenchi's power. It wasn't as much as Gohan's increase, but it was plentiful. Don't tell Master Roshi this, but as Washu was raping him with science, I was actually talking to Katsuhito about it, and he told me that ever since Tenchi came out of the Time Chamber, he liked what he saw in his training."

Meanwhile, we once again visit the Madri Scholar and his mysterious friend in the brown hood at the isolated shed.

"So, we meet once again, Madri Scholar," the mysterious one greeted nonchalantly.

"I know that isn't your best greeting, so I hope this doesn't become trademark," the Madri Scholar cleverly replied. "As for current activities, I have nothing to say about today, except it's been decided that tomorrow we finally get a look at the full results of Gohan and Tenchi's training at the time chamber."

"Oh?" the hooded one sounded off, the slight widening of his eyes and opening of his mouth indicating that he was indeed curious.

"Gohan and Tenchi will fight as a unit, tomorrow afternoon, against Kagato," the Scholar explained in basic tone. "I still think that Kagato is at an advantage against them individually, but they're working as a team which by now has been established well. I don't see where they can finish him."

"Wait, what do you mean?" the hooded one hastily demanded.

"What I mean, Mysterio, is that Vegeta and Nagi had a fight, which was cut into several times whilst on the verge of a conclusion. Kagato came and laid down a challenge for two of our own to face him, at the same spot where the majority of Vegeta and Nagi's fight took place," the Madri Scholar continued into further detail. "After a conglomeration of the heroes, it was finally chosen that Gohan and Tenchi were going to take the fight, due to several side effects of their work at the Hyperbolic Time Chamber."

"I think I know what you're talking about. And trust me: this works. But let me tell you something, Madri Scholar. The name "Mysterio" is already starting to get annoying," the mysterious friend replied, changing the subject in the middle of his statement to that of the stupid name that the Madri Scholar devised for him. "I don't like it one bit, and I don't expect you to expect me to. In fact, I actually came up with another one, that sounds less annoying. I'm getting ready for when I come out and reveal to them all who I really am, but for now, just call me… the Brown Phantom. Not exactly original, but it'll do."

"Have to agree on that, to be honest," the Madri Scholar submitted with a sigh.

"Oh, and one more thing: I have no intention of revealing who I am just yet. But I think something just came up. It's a bit of an idea," the newly re-dubbed Brown Phantom revealed, surprising the all-seeing eye of the universe a slight bit. "Time for a coming out party. The Brown Phantom has arrived."

Immediately skipping past the rest of the overnight and early morning hours, we head to the Ken-Souja, which is hovering high above the battleground that Kagato had suggested for this next major fight he was about to engage in. Standing alongside all of the others at the Ken-Souja chapel/throne room, Kagato contemplated the situation that he had placed himself in just yesterday. He could easily guess the Z-senshi and Masaki clan members had the common sense to know by now that he had no intention on actually having a fight to the death. He and his allies were merely seeing how strong the good ones were, how well they matched up against him, and how much they really wanted to save their earth. Then, it would be time for the masters to make their move, and to claim their place atop the universe. As Kagato contemplated the future greatness that the group was about to embark upon, Cell approached him step by step, until he came close enough for the Masu-produced supreme intellectual being's head, with the silver hair atop it, to finally turn in his direction.

"Kagato, you are one of the most powerful and calculating people I've ever known. You remind me of myself, with a bit of additional growing up on my part," Cell admitted, sending Kagato into his subtly proud face. "However, need I tell you you're sticking yourself into a potential trap?"

"A trap, you say? Nonsense. It's impossible for me to fall into traps," Kagato disagreed, perfectly retaining his composure even through his objection, as was his habitual trademark. "But, seeing as how this is you and not a moronic servant that we will have in our future, I'm willing to listen."

"You set yourself up. You're putting yourself wide open in the middle of a field, challenging two of the enemies against us," Cell began to explain, his voice becoming very strong as he boomed with this statement. "There's an old adage saying, "give them an inch and they'll take a mile." They would want nothing more than an opportunity to destroy you and weaken our forces. They could easily send more than two to fight and to all blast you at once. Do you understand where I'm coming from with this?"

"If I didn't, I wouldn't be Kagato. I would be one of the many overconfident fools of the universe that has already been destroyed and has no hope at all for a comeback whatsoever," Kagato replied somewhat boastfully, promoting himself as well as the fact that he did understand where Cell was coming from.

"Had I not escaped Hell, you could have been one of those hopeless infinite losers," Cell countered cleverly, which irritated Kagato.

"Yes… well… be quiet, and let me answer your complaint," Kagato irritably spoke in reply. "In case Nagi never told you, and even if she did, as I'm guessing she did not analyze the technicalities enough to explain them to you as clearly as necessary, I made the challenge for two people to meet me down there at three o'clock. Not one. Not zero. Not five. Not twenty-six. _Two_. And I clearly said, if I am not met by _two_ fighters at the three o'clock, I will give you my signal to unleash destruction upon the entire planet with the use of the Ken-Souja's main cannon. I may not see it as necessary to lie in this plan, but I have established a perfect technicality, a supreme gray area, to ensure that I am only confronted by two of the warriors, the most likely scenario under which I could get an exact gauge of their power without causing any deaths. I don't care for them at all. I just don't believe in killing just for the sake of killing. We will strike, we will make our kills, and we will eliminate all of our enemies, but we have to do it _right_. The attacks must be of a great purpose and must have a high domino effect. Otherwise, it's just killing one more person, which may not necessarily get anything worthwhile out of our way."

"I get it now, as far as this battle. You're not lying. You're using technicalities to bind them to your own word. So, when are you going down?" Cell asked, his newly delivered smile not masking his renewed confidence in Kagato's plan.

"Right now," Kagato replied, his game face finally coming on. "You do know how to use the Souja's power… right?"

"I think I have a very good idea," Cell answered Kagato's question, reassuring the eternally wanted criminal of the Muyo realm.

"Good. I'll see you back here after the battle," Kagato said, before warping down from the majestic ship of the dark side, down to the grassland where a familiar windmill and the not-so-majestic ship of the Saiyan race's first voluntary arrival to the planet Earth rested. Despite the wear and tear from Vegeta and Nagi's battle, the place was still quite fertile, and able to stand an adventure of a fight once more. This will be a fine ground to test my opponents. _I have to commend myself on once again making an excellent decision._

Following the ever boring and uneventful wait for a couple more hours for his opponents to arrive, Kagato finally caught the sight of a twinkle in the sky. Followed by that twinkle came the immediate sighting of something flying. Not two people as he expected, but an actual object. In fact, once it came a little closer, Kagato could barely see that it was… Videl's jet copter! Obviously, the two fighters are using this plane as transportation so as to mask their energy, or to help conserve it. _Quite the strategy. But it won't get them by me. Huh?_ Something just wasn't right about this whole picture. Meanwhile, actually inside the jet copter was Videl, and she was flying it towards the area, and her one and only passenger was… Sakuya! And what's more is, neither of them was looking scared at all! Surely they were not actually planning on confronting Kagato! Hadn't the group established their boyfriends as the partners? And more importantly, hadn't Kagato specifically stated that he would destroy all the good guys' homes if they sent easily killable weaklings to take him on?

"Now, Sakuya, you do remember the plan, right?" Videl asked her without turning around, as she was trying to land the jet copter. Sakuya merely nodded, both young women's gazes locked tight on Kagato, focused, not giving a snowball's chance to the art of getting scared. They knew what they had to do, and they had to do it now.

"This has to be executed perfectly, so that we can take that snake man Kagato and make him wish he'd never been brought back to life," Sakuya stated, with a determination that had never been seen in her before.

"Exactly," Videl shortly agreed, after which she stopped the craft.

Once the jet copter landed in the area, almost immediately next to Raditz' ship, he saw two people coming out. But it wasn't quite who he expected… or should we say, anyone that would qualify as what he expected. Out came Videl and Sakuya, to which he was immediately shocked and appalled, insulted and annoyed.

"What is this? A form of mockery?" he immediately shot at Videl and Sakuya as they both walked in his direction, seemingly fearlessly approaching him. If there was one thing he didn't like, it was an _ultimate_ sign, such as this one, of him not being taken seriously. It was the one thing that could actually get him on edge or get him to completely lose his cool for even a moment. And that's just as long as his loss of composure lasted: a moment. For he regained his cool almost immediately after a momentary grunt.

"So they didn't take my word seriously at all, did they?" he asked, projecting his voice loudly so that Videl and Sakuya could hear.

"Wait: what word?" Videl asked right back, answering Kagato's question with a question of his own, as she and her friend continued walking in his direction!

"That I'm destroying your homes because I'm being sent a couple of weaklings to fight," Kagato reminded them. Yet the still didn't flinch.

"Oh, that word," Videl shot back, really sounding as if she'd just remembered what he was saying except she wasn't moved at all. What's more is, she and Sakuya hadn't stopped walking. And to top it all off, she merely blew it off as if she didn't care while she was saying that. But here was the real motive behind it. "Actually, I don't think we broke it much at all. There are two people who want to fight you, but as much as we really wish you'd just get out of our lives and stay out, we're not the ones making it a personal mission to fight you and destroy you."

"Huh? You're not? Then why are you walking over here?" Kagato demanded, retaining his coolness once more. But that was until he was kicked in the back, hard, knocking him down and causing him to slide forwards in the direction of Videl and Sakuya. In fact, combine their steps with his sliding, and he was soon right at their feet. How humiliating. Once Kagato noticed this, he growled in frustration, then turned around to see the source of that kick was none other than Videl's boyfriend, Son Gohan. Right then and there, he got up, dusted himself off, and smirked in Gohan's direction, figuring out the connection between this whole crazy scenario…

"So, Son Gohan. It's actually you who has come to challenge me. Perhaps your big group of friends was not so incompetent after all," Kagato admitted, a small piece of him actually being amused at what had just befallen him. "Now that we have that established, you might want to hurry up and explain to me… why Tenchi has yet to appear."

"What?" Gohan exclaimed in complete shock. "How do you know Tenchi's my partner?"

"It was quite simple, really. I realized the connection between the fact that Videl and Sakuya served as the distraction, and the fact that you, Videl's boyfriend, the one that originally destroyed Cell, were the one that attacked me. Right then and there, I figured that Sakuya's boyfriend, Tenchi, the fool that originally destroyed me, had to be your partner. It was just a matter of logic and sense," Kagato explained, putting on his proud face again. "I was beginning to get a little humiliated, but now that I see the plan, I'm no longer embarrassed."

"You really might want to quit kidding around there, Kagato," Gohan advised, strongly enough for Kagato to hear him but also to know that he wasn't spending his energy on yelling. Which was good for him, but according to the thoughts of the Ruins Buster, not quite good enough. Kagato and Gohan both stood there, building themselves up, getting in battle mode. But while Gohan needed to enter a fighting stance, Kagato really didn't need anything more than to stand upright. That enough was an advantage in Kagato's favor: he could fight without fighting at all. Still right behind the Ruins Buster in position, Videl and Sakuya stood there, finally in some bit of fright. They both wished right now that they could just shoot to Gohan that they needed time to get out of there, but a) chances are he already knew that, and b) chances are that it would take Kagato's attention and make him attempt to blast them. But then, with one look at one another, they immediately remembered the courage with which they had done their job and distracted Kagato the first time for Gohan to even make his offense. It was with that courage (or a reckless abandon type version of it) that they turned around and ran away.

Kagato looked back once he heard quick and fading footsteps, immediately remembering those two wenches that actually tricked him into getting kicked from behind. So, just to give them a going away present, he turned around and used his energy to blow a huge wind in their direction, sending them rolling backwards even past the jet copter, and even shaking it up a bit. It was at that point in time that Kiyone and Mihoshi, the two Galaxy Policewomen stationed on the backwater planet Earth (specifically, the Masaki house), suddenly exited Videl's vehicle, and each was in uniform.

_How annoying,_ Kagato thought as he saw Kiyone and Mihoshi help their two friends get up (Kiyone obviously having better luck with Videl than Mihoshi had helping Sakuya) and set them in the back seat, after which Kiyone took the driver's seat (not trusting Mihoshi with these duties, since she used to crash the GP Yagami ship into the Masaki house or somewhere about ¾ of the times they used it) and piloted the jet copter out to a higher, safer part of the ground than this. With all the futile women finally out of the way, Kagato turned back to Gohan.

"So, pull out your partner, already," Kagato beckoned to Gohan.

"I think I can start this without him," Gohan politely declined. Kagato could see that there was a fire in his eyes, that was similar to that which had appeared upon the face of Tenchi… when the Masaki boy slashed him away.

"Agreed. That way, you can start with a bang-up job at desperately trying to survive. Now why don't we start this already?" Kagato asked Gohan, which was the cue for the both of them to begin this battle and charge towards one another with rushing punches. However, once Gohan's fist connected with Kagato's, there was a suddenly spark of electricity that immediately hit the air, which obviously served as the telling picture about this majestic clash.

"Whoa, would you look at that?" Kiyone marveled, watching on from the aforementioned higher, safer point and noticing the electric feel of the area as well as anyone.

"You think they're even?" Mihoshi asked Kiyone, turning in her direction.

"I think so… I just don't know…" Kiyone managed to say, still amazed at what she was seeing.

It was at that moment in time, that Kagato and Gohan both reverted to their original position, and looking at one another, could tell that didn't hurt much. So, Kagato decided to play a little game with Gohan. A second image of Kagato appeared behind Gohan, but he was so preoccupied with the original that he hadn't seen it.

"Tell me, Gohan," the original Kagato in front of him said. "Have you ever tried turning around before?"

Immediately thinking he had an idea where Kagato was going with this, Gohan turned around… and walked right into a backhand chop to the side of his head, courtesy of the second Kagato image! He was immediately knocked down, though he slid only a few feet, and one of the Kagatos vanished. Turns out, it wasn't the second one, it was the first one, the one that was originally spoke to him, that vanished!

"How pathetic. You can't even tell the difference between me and my own shadow, and we're not even inside the Souja, let alone its chapel," the one remaining Kagato said as Gohan fought through that terrible sting of pain to pick himself up. On he finally did so, he turned towards Kagato, who had an open smile on his face as he noted the already apparent bruise mark and paper cut on Gohan's left cheek. But that smile immediately dissipated on he saw Gohan simply brush it off.

_This boy seems to be every bit as good as Cell says he is, at least at first glance,_ Kagato contemplated the matter from inside his own head. _No matter. Cell made it a point to advise me to anticipate a great effort from Gohan. And that is what I will do._ Then he instantly remembered a certain stipulation that he had placed on this battle. _However… this isn't quite what I expected, for one reason and one reason only._

"Gohan, I believe I remember saying I wanted two people to fight me, not just one," Kagato then reminded the half-Saiyan warrior standing before him with Kaioshin-increased abilities. "Now, before the Ken-Souja is used to destroy each and every home belonging to you and your closest friends, including the mansion of Hercule in all its richness and glamour, and the Masaki house with all its extra-dimensional additions courtesy of a certain former professor of mine, with a mere snap of my fingers serving as a signal to the others, you will tell me right now: _where is Tenchi_?"

"Right above you!" that familiar voice shot, much louder than Kagato had been used to hearing it be in the past.

"Look! It's Tenchi!" Kiyone and Mihoshi both shot, seeing the Nimbus cloud which has recently become Tenchi's trademark vehicle hovering above Kagato's head by about fifty feet. Being much closer than the girls on the jet copter, Kagato could easily see that Tenchi was indeed occupying that certain space. Tenchi did have his battle markings on his face, and he was wearing a Jurian battle suit that Tsunami had given to him via the ring.

Meanwhile, Ryoko was standing just outside the Masaki house, when a feeling suddenly overtook her. It wasn't something too hard for her to put her finger on: she could just sense it. She knew that the fight had just started, and something in her sparked, beckoned to her, practically summoned her to that battlefield, telling her from inside, that she had to go down there and see Tenchi fight. Not only because it was Tenchi, but because of who she now fully expected him to be beating the crap out of: that bastard Kagato, the one who had the nerve to enslave her for the majority of at least two thousand years. She was confident that Kagato was once again about to be destroyed at the hands of Tenchi, and there was no way she was missing this for the world. This notion encouraged her to begin floating, after which she was perfectly ready to fly away. That is, had she not heard a certain voice coming from behind and telling her to wait. Immediately after this, she stopped and came right back down to ground level, an annoyed and embarrassed look beginning to come on her face. She didn't even need to look back and see to know that it was Raditz.

"I don't think getting your teeth knocked out is supposed to be part of your day, so buzz off, Raditz," she hastily commanded him in a near yelling voice, but not including a sudden snap of her head in his direction, which would accompany the following complete yell: "I'm gonna go see Tenchi and your nephew kick the living crap out of Kagato, and I'm gonna be there to cheer on Tenchi every minute of it, and if you don't like it, you can-"

"Relax, I know where you're going," he replied, using these mere words rather than a big cheesy comeback to interrupt her. "You don't need to tell me to shove it or anything. I'm not here to stop you, Ryoko. I'm coming with you."

"What?" she asked, getting a little confused.

"I don't have anything better to do, and there's no way I plan on letting Washu experiment on me or give me any stupid chores to do, and that includes replacing Tenchi's responsibility in the fields," he continued on. "Besides, as you reminded the both of us just now, Tenchi is fighting alongside my nephew, whose girlfriend happens to look quite similar to a female Saiyan that was on my father's team of soldiers back before Vegetasei was destroyed at the hands of Frieza. Anyway, let's go." However, she wouldn't leave just yet. Rather, she actually looked at him with a smile on her face.

"Well, now I see what you look like without that silly fighting armor on. I was beginning to think you'd never show up in another outfit," she said, actually sounding happy. That struck him as odd for a very good second there, probably even more than it should have. Anyway, she was right. He had finally changed his outfit. Normally, he would continue to keep on his Saiyan fighting uniform pretty much all the time, or at least 90 percent of the time, but on this day, he finally decided to trade in his rits and short tights for a black/dark grey tank top with a skull and crossbones on the front chest, and a pair of blue jeans. Along with that were black sporting sneakers and a black wristband on each arm. Also equally strange as the new outfit was the fact that he wasn't even wearing that scouter over his left eye, either.

"I don't know. I guess I felt a little cramped up in the rits today for some reason," he finally brought himself to reply, coolly shrugging it off, before walking over to her. "Come on. Let's go."

"Right. Who am I to worry about how _you_ look?" she asked, emphasizing the word "you" as if it was something criminal.

"What?" he shot in embarrassment.

"Come on, let's go," she said, ignoring his outburst and repeating his precedent request. Ryoko then flew into the air, in the direction of where she could sense the fight was happening. Raditz looked in her direction and, after suppressing a scowl, finally screamed out, "Wait for me!" and flew off after her.

Back on the battlefield, now was the time when Kagato was on the verge of being challenged big time by Gohan and Tenchi. The two young adult prodigies stood alongside one another, facing Kagato with the most warlike of faces.

"Well, if you're going to begin this fight anytime soon, then now would be the best time to start," Kagato told the boys, during which they had already started charging towards him. While Gohan suddenly turned to his right, Tenchi continued going straight forwards, and punched Kagato right to the side of the face. Just a couple of seconds following that punch, Kagato found himself kicked in the head by Gohan, which sent him tumbling down in corkscrew fashion. He did immediately recover and get back on his feet, following which he was quickly assaulted by another angry fist from Tenchi, except this one was in the direction of Kagato's gut, but he instantly blocked it with his white-gloved and otherwise translucent hands. The right hand of Kagato was the one to leave the blocking position after he fully knew that Tenchi's fist had stopped pushing towards him, and the right hand of Kagato was the one that punched Tenchi in the face. Following this, he shot a green energy wave in the direction of Tenchi, which blew up on his face and delivered him intense pain. Meanwhile, Gohan prepared two ki waves and shot them both at Kagato before the be-all, end-all Ruins Buster could pay his attention to him. Kagato was taken by the full brunt of the waves, but as both clouds of smoke quickly cleared, one could see that neither Kagato nor Tenchi was seriously hurt. This battle was just getting underway, and there was no denying that Gohan and Tenchi were in for a challenge against Kagato, and that he was in for a challenge against them.

"Well, I believe we were right," Kagato said simply. "Cell and I both had a gut feeling that you would be very strong, the both of you, and that if you were the challengers, that I was going to be in for it."

"Kagato, you better not go back on your word," Tenchi warned strongly, to which Kagato replied with a chuckle full of his ego.

"We're here. Two fighters. Two really strong fighters," Gohan added to the statement of his friend. "You're a conniving trickster, but I know you're something crazy yourself, and I have reason to believe I can actually trust you on this one. I'm not telling you what the reason is, but if I'm right, then no one and nothing on this planet is getting destroyed today."

"Is that so?" Kagato asked, his voice indicative of the next part of his reply. "Now I'm beginning to get interested."

"Yeah. 'Cause, as you can tell, this isn't going to be a cakewalk," Gohan finished.

"Rest assured, boy. Especially after the specific details I made in my challenge, I never expected one anyway," Kagato revealed.

"Hyah!" Tenchi screamed out, having just used his material conversion ability to create multiple energy fireballs, and launching them in the direction of Kagato.

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Kagato: "Well, I did ask for this. But this battle is beginning to get a little more difficult than I thought it could be."

-Gohan: "You know, it's funny. I could say the same thing."

-Tenchi: "So could I. But Gohan, we can't give up on this one. Remember, the girls are counting on us to finish him off."

-Gohan: "As are the rest of our friends, and as is the universe."

-Tenchi: "Right. So, on the next **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, we've gotta do our best to beat Kagato again in **Chapter 18: The Dynamic Duo, GT**."

-Kagato: "Ah, so we've gained a small audience. And it's entirely one-sided."


	18. The Dynamic Duo, GT

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Grand Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: I get the feeling that I'm going to completely enjoy this one… or should I say, this next few.

**Chapter 18: The Dynamic Duo, GT.**

With fireballs of energy launched by Tenchi flying in his direction, Kagato braced himself for impact, going into defensive position at the very last second. The fireballs all exploded upon clashing with Kagato, and the explosions were similar to those of bombs. However, there was no harm found upon the on-guard Kagato when the smoke cleared. Pretty much figuring that this would be the truth, Gohan immediately went in after Kagato, throwing lefts and rights at a breakneck rate. While Kagato was backing up and Gohan was generating the forward surge, Kagato was comfortably sitting back and watching each and every one of those punches hit his forearms. Not that it didn't hurt at all; more like it didn't hurt as much as it could have and possibly would have had the attack actually hit his fore_head_ instead. However, once Gohan put a little bit of power into one of his punches, it managed to knock back Kagato quite a few steps, an indication that his defense was beginning to get penetrated. Gohan tried to charge at Kagato to get back on the assault, but with a quick opening of his arms and a quick burst of energy, he was able to generate a huge wind and a force field which knocked Gohan back all the way where he started.

Knowing now that he would have to be quite careful, Kagato looked to be slightly more guarded, although he did not enter any fighting stance. Gohan and Tenchi both looked at him, suddenly finding themselves working side by side, far enough from Kagato for him to be able to do something tricky. But, figuring in typical genius fashion that they were beginning to suspect him, the Ruins Buster took the opportunity in stride to merely walk over to them, walking three steps and teleporting ten steps closer, from where he would continue to walk. After three more steps, he went sideways and ten steps closer yet again. It wasn't until they were in completely plain sight that Kagato stopped. He then extended his arm and opened his palm towards Tenchi and Gohan, after which he began to load up another green energy wave. However, Tenchi immediately cut into it by drawing the Tenchi-ken sword and, once the saber blade appeared, slicing the blast into oblivion as soon as it began to protrude his way. But before Tenchi could stop the motion and get back on guard, Kagato was actually dashing towards him, ready to smash him in the heart with a thunderous right hand. However, Gohan anticipated it and stepped in front of Tenchi to block the move, which was impressive considering Kagato's incredible speed with that attack. Seeing that he wasn't going to be able to get off any attack on this one, Kagato receded and backed up a few steps, after which a smile began to form on his face.

"Hey, Kagato! What are you smiling about?" Gohan immediately demanded, though honestly he didn't care. All he cared about now was him and Tenchi winning this fight against Kagato and finally putting him to rest. He really wanted Kagato to just get his little thought out of the way.

"Don't be so hasty, Gohan. I'm merely standing here being impressed once again," Kagato replied coolly as he closed his eyes and shrugged his arms, still smiling, still somewhat smug. However, he quickly opened his eyes to notice that Tenchi was coming at him furiously for a kick. He barely managed to teleport out of that area, then back in behind Tenchi following the swing and a miss. Kagato then hit Tenchi in the back of the neck with a backhand chop, seriously sending some shockwaves into that critical part of Tenchi. Once Gohan saw this, he knew that at least for a little while, he was going to have to go this one alone. His face was now ensconced in the anger of a scowl, seeing that his friend was down, and that he was stranded here in this one. But Gohan was ready to fight. He had no quit in him. There wasn't even a semblance of quit in any piece of his soul right now. He knew only one thing: he had to defeat Kagato, for the good of his friends, his girlfriend, and the universe.

So, with that in mind, Gohan built up a ball of energy in his right hand, and launched it in Kagato's direction. Kagato merely gave a small sidestep: luckily, it wasn't time to die for anyone, for the blast did not get close enough to harm the spectators at the jet copter. In fact, their location ensured that that would be a difficult job to accomplish, and that's if Kagato _tried_ to harm them.

"I can't tell you how relieved I am that that didn't hit me," Kagato spoke again, still speaking coolly as ever, hoping somewhat that his opponent would lose his own cool.

"Huh?" they both asked simultaneously. Despite being enemies, Gohan and Kagato could both notice that there was an energy flying into the zone at this very moment. Gohan also sensed who it was, though it was a bit murky only because he hadn't exactly felt this energy a great many times before.

"Wait a minute, it that…?" Gohan froze, beginning to ask, but being unable to. He didn't completely see why they would be arriving here, seeing as how he and Tenchi (well, actually, just him at this point, Tenchi's still recovering from that chop to the back of the neck) were fighting Kagato as we speak.

"Raditz and Ryoko. And to think Vegeta thinks lowly of their combination," Kagato mentioned exuberantly, as if he had been expecting them or was happy that they'd come, for some reason. They weren't quite here yet, but Kagato could sense that they were pretty close to the area.

Meanwhile, at the Masaki house, Princess Ayeka was fuming as she realized what was going on.

"WHAT?" she screamed out in complete fury in the direction of Washu, who, from behind the couch, had just informed her that Raditz and Ryoko went straight to the battlefield. "I cannot believe this! I absolutely forbid this to happen!"

"Now, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, or the copycat of Kagato, Ayeka, but like he said back when we were on his ship before, you're in no position to forbid anything," Washu stated. Ayeka's entire face grew beet red as she scowled in complete rage at the mere saying of those words to her face once again.

"How can you possibly tell me such a thing?" she finally stormed at the super genius as she stood up, turned around, and stretched her arms out over the sofa to grab her by the shirt. "That demonic nimrod you call a creation and a daughter is headed in the direction of the fight between Gohan and Tenchi against Kagato! Why would you allow such an atrocity to happen?"

"Hey, she wanted to go and see Tenchi fight, so how could I stop her? In fact, Raditz actually had the right idea by going along with her if you ask me," Washu replied with a slightly innocent grin, inwardly praying that Ayeka didn't try to hurt her.

"How could anything about this be the right idea? I thought he was assisting me!" Ayeka shot, still not relenting in her position, and still not letting go of Washu's shirt. "If anyone is awakening Lord Tenchi to the realization that Sakuya is not right for him, than that someone should be me! I am Ayeka, the First Crown Princess of the almighty planet Jurai! I do not deserve to be shoved aside for some… demonic space pirate!"

"Ever thought about trying to go with them yourself?" Washu suggested, making Ayeka realize what a fool she's been lately on this one. Upon immediate realization of her erroneous handling of this situation, Ayeka froze, stopped being angry, blushed in shame, then let go of Washu and fell onto the sofa in a faint-like manner due to her complete disbelief. And while the purple-haired royal basked in her own self-humiliation in absolutely no concise or effective manner, the greatest scientific mind in the universe allowed herself to think for a minute, but not on a scientific matter.

_For some reason, I get the feeling… that this may have just made Ayeka's little mission to get Tenchi a bit easier,_ she thought in wonder, placing a hand underneath her chin for positional emphasis. _I can't quite put a lid on it… but still, I get this weird feeling. It's almost like Ryoko's not telling me something. Anyway, I hope she's alright. Then again, she's not fighting, so there's no reason for her not to be…_

_Mistake number one: he's getting distracted!_ Gohan realized back on the battlefield, as Kagato continued to look the other way, towards the direction he could sense Ryoko and Raditz were coming from, in complete anticipation of the duo. Seeing the opportunity, Gohan decided to try and seize it. Building up a blast of ki in his right hand again, he shot it at Kagato once again, but not as a single shot. In fact, he went into continuous ki-shooting mode, attacking Kagato from behind with blast after blast after blast. The assault was relentless: smoke was building up around Kagato the more he was getting struck by Gohan's ki blasts. The show was impressive, and even despite the fact that Tenchi was down, the girls watching from the jet copter all thought that Gohan was now beginning to really turn things up and was probably going to kill Kagato right then and there. Folding his hands together with palms out, he then charged a powerful ki blast which would be the finishing touch on all the ones he just threw. He let it out, and it generated the loudest explosion of all those within this assault.

As the smoke completely engulfed the area around Kagato and covered Gohan's sight, he panted a little to catch his breath after the output of energy that he had just released. Coincidentally, he was back in mode and able to stop panting just as the smoke covering Kagato began to fade and clear.

Kagato did look like he had just taken some pain, though not much further than the slightest bit even this time. After a short while, he finally worked himself through it and looked down at Tenchi. He then formed an energy sword within his hand, then extended his arm in Tenchi's direction. Gohan saw what he was doing, but he wasn't exactly the only one.

"Kagato, no!" Gohan pleaded angrily, his human instinct hoping helplessly against hope that Kagato would not go through with what Gohan saw him about to do.

"Do you really expect me to pass up such an opportunity, Gohan? I have the chance, right here, to end this Masaki boy from ever overtaking or destroying me, once and for all," Kagato explained, apparently unknowing to the fact that he was just wasting time. "And once I complete this slash and so many others, unless his significant improvement in strength can shine physically as well as supernaturally, he will be torn to pieces, as will the entire psyche of the Masaki house."

Kagato, done speaking, pulled back and prepared to swing that energy blade straight at Tenchi, he was fazed slightly by a sound he had heard: one of the loudest screams of "NOOOOOOO!" one could possibly muster. What's more, it had come from a voice that had yet to have been sighted in the area, but at the same time, one that he had recognized as that of a certain extremely volatile space pirate. Turning around in the direction behind him, he saw that flying in were the Saiyan warrior that escaped hell (though unwittingly did so with Cell) and, at a much faster and angrier pace, that extremely volatile space pirate in the wild spiked cyan hair. Ryoko was heading straight in his direction, obviously aching to fight and hopefully kill him.

"Ah, ah, ah, Ryoko. You seriously may want to reconsider this action if you don't want your entire planet up for scorching at the hands of the Ken-Souja," Kagato then threatened, stopping her right in her tracks even before he went on. "In case your anger about Tenchi may have gone beyond frying your memory some 180 degrees, you do recall my statement that only if two people fight me will I not signal for my allies to destroy the earth."

She was reduced to clenching her angry shaking fist and growling the words, "Kagato… you sick bastard…"

"I've heard that too many times for it to hurt me now," Kagato commented in response to Ryoko's last resort retort, before hearing and sensing that Gohan starting to charge for him again. This time, though, Gohan's attack was a little bit different. He was carrying a ki ball in his hand, and rushing towards Kagato at the same time, perhaps hoping to smash the blast directly into Kagato's face. However, though he was turned around and didn't know the exact nature of the attack, he was able to hold it off for the best part by using his forearm to block it, making the blast neutral in its impact, hitting both Kagato and Gohan just the same. They both did back up out of the smoke cover that ensued, while Raditz finally caught up to Ryoko and told her to get away. Reluctantly, she followed him to the high cliff spot where the jet copter was.

"Oh, so you guys are here watching the fight too?" Ryoko guessed upon seeing the four inside.

"Actually, Videl and Sakuya had a plan to distract Kagato," Kiyone revealed, turning around to her. "Mihoshi and I came along to help them get out of there in case they got hit."

"To distract Kagato? That's not like him, to be distracted by two young women like that," Ryoko noted suspiciously.

"No, Ryoko. He didn't know who was fighting him, so we came up with the plan to come out and distract him while our boyfriends down there took the advantage," Videl cut in to correct Ryoko's interpretation of "distracted".

"Obviously, it hasn't lasted very long," Raditz pointed out.

Back down there, both Kagato and Gohan suffered a slight bit from that attack, though Gohan took just a second longer than Kagato as far as fully getting over the hit. The two looked at one another for a few seconds, but Kagato suddenly teleported behind Gohan and, as both fighters turned around, actually struck Gohan in the head with his elbow. Kagato followed that up with an uppercut, quickly sending Gohan into the sky. Kagato teleported above Gohan to intercept his forced ascent, with a punch to the top of the head, a quick knee to the midsection, and a two-hand Mongolian sandwich chop to each side of the head, followed by a double axe handle to the head, sending him rocketing down and falling in pain. As Gohan fell almost next to Tenchi, the Masaki boy finally moved, and though it wasn't quite effortless, the process of getting to his feet was certainly not as painful as it originally looked with that hit to the neck. This obviously registered as meaning that he either intentionally stayed down to recover himself, or it didn't hurt as much. The former would be more likely and more approved of. Tenchi saw that Gohan was down but not out, and quickly looked up in the air where Kagato was. He couldn't reach him from there, since he couldn't fly. In fact, that was about the only error in their training at the Room of Spirit and Time. Gohan had neglected or forgotten about giving him flying lessons. The best he could do now was make sure Kagato couldn't get down to hurt Gohan. But instead, Kagato decided to socialize in a threatening manner, by turning around and floating ever so slowly in the direction of all the spectators.

Tenchi quickly looked over there and could make out that there were two more shapes at the cliff the jet copter was at. Seeing as how he had heard Ryoko screaming back when Kagato was presumably about to kill him, he could quickly suspect that she was the first. But as for who would accompany her, it would have to be either Raditz or Washu, and despite their obvious differences, maybe even Ayeka. Either way, enough worrying about that. He generated a fireball of ki and threw it towards Kagato again, except this time it was just that: one fireball of ki, that was much greater than the several fireballs from before he got knocked down. Kagato knew it was coming, however, and quickly dodged it with a sidestep. The fireball wound up floating past Kagato, over the sextet of spectators, and off harmlessly into space. What's more is, Kagato finally made an actually aggressive move, flying down at high speed toward Tenchi and Gohan (who was just getting up), then suddenly teleporting behind Tenchi and hitting him with a leaping spinning kick which pretty much knocked Tenchi down flat on his stomach. He followed that up with a swift kick to the gut on Gohan, which reaped the same results with the special addition of Gohan favoring his midsection.

With both of the young warriors down, Kagato saw himself as being in some measure of complete control of the action now, and so he floated on upward. He continued floating on, floating and floating, as the two young men grimaced in pain. With some thoughts about pathetic trivialities he was about to end filling his mind, Kagato continued floating on upward, and soon, he found himself standing much higher than that cliff that their six friends had decided on watching the battle from. It was not until that point that Kagato was satisfied with his distance. With his palms and arms pointed down toward the boys, he charged up energy beams on both hands, then released them in a flashing barrage of continuous blasts. Tenchi just barely turned around when the first of the blasts was about to hit. A small flash of white light appeared in front of him for one split-second, but by then, it was too late. The blast exploded, followed by another, and yet another. Kagato was having a series of his own out of continuously battering his foes with energy blasts. He wasn't chock-full of any emotion whatsoever, he was just concentrated on hitting the beams. As the smoke built up and completely covered Gohan and Tenchi, Kagato now had more and more reason to believe that he had them either severely damaged or maybe even dead. As the smoke built up, so did his belief in that theory, enough that he would just go to a complete stop as far as his energy shooting.

"Those two are supposed to be of much more respectable power than this. I expected… _better_ fighting, to say the least," Kagato stated, to no one in particular. "However, this just goes to show. No matter how powerful one may become in body, it is the progression from boy to man that leads to one truly becoming a great soldier of any kind. As for these two… well, their progression obviously is not complete and never will be… Huh?" He stopped himself right in the midst of his words, as the smoke had finally cleared, what he saw was a flash of light. No, it was three extremely light objects, all of which were right above Tenchi and looked similar to some three sarcophagus-looking objects of pure white light in triangle formation. The second Kagato saw it, he looked on in some sort of impressed surprise at how superbly it was all done.

_Just before the first of my blasts finally hit the boys, Tenchi just barely managed to activate his three Lighthawk Wings! But how much littler could the gap of time and space between the activation and the blast possibly be…? Perhaps he has progressed further than I estimated,_ thought a certain impressed evil opponent. _Now, he could do one of two things with those wings… let's see which decision he finally makes._

As he was in the midst of this wondering exactly what Tenchi would do next with the Lighthawk wings, he stuck his arms out forward with closed fists, pulling them towards him. As he did so, the wings changed his battle suit to a different color. As opposed to the mainly white and brown suit which had some kind of small bandana to go with it, his suit became one of lighter colors, specifically sky blue and lilac. This allowed more of his power to come out, as well as increased his pain threshold. Gohan finally began to get up when he turned to Tenchi and saw the sudden change in him. That stopped the one from the Dragon Ball realm for an instant, before he realized he wasn't in a good spot to look shocked and be off his vertical base at the same time. So, he fought through a little bit, and he got back up. Surprisingly, though, Tenchi rose back to his feet immediately after Gohan's rise.

"So, what do you say? Full power?" Tenchi asked Gohan with a smile on his face.

"Full power," Gohan repeated, returning the smile to his ally, following which they each got into position: closing their eyes and bowing their heads, Gohan and Tenchi were able to focus their energies for better and less strenuous release. But before they could begin, a blue blitz of energy appeared from somewhere on Kagato's right side and struck him, causing a larger boom aftereffect than all the ones we've seen on the battlefield so far. What's more about it is, nobody could sense where it was coming from. Once out of the smoke, Kagato turned to his initial right, and saw what appeared to be someone in a brown druid robe, with the hood over his head, so as to conceal his face. The person had his hand stuck out, indicating that he shot that thing. Now he returned his arm to its normal position, after which he merely walked away. Just like that. No words, no warnings, no prophetic or ominous promises. Nothing.

_I've got to find out exactly who that person is sometime, or else he might go on a run of mysterious run-ins… which very easily could become a problem for us,_ Kagato realized. _But as for right now, there is only one objective I am to focus on, and that's taking care of those two teenagers down there for as long as I can care to take care of them before the battle is to be written as over._ Then, he turned to Gohan and Tenchi, who were also in a brief moment of complete surprise. Surely enough, they immediately went back to work, returning to their focus position. There was something about all this that Kagato knew was a slight breaking of his word, but he couldn't quite put a lid on it, especially not when, about sixteen seconds later, both of the boys quickly opened their eyes and let out a short but powerful scream, which pretty much shook the entire area off its hinges a little bit, as well as killed most of the grass near them. Even the cliff with the jet copter on it was beginning to crack ever so slightly, but it was not apparent enough that anyone felt the need to leave. But once the shaking stopped, everyone noticed two similar-looking glows on the ground. One was light blue and surrounded by electricity, while the other one was pure white and only appearing in flashes, but what was undeniable about it was that both were very, very strong.

"So this is their full power. Tenchi's even better than me! I know he'll be able to squash Kagato now! I love it!" Ryoko shot joyously, already foreseeing the victory.

"Do you really think they'll be able to do it?" Mihoshi asked for some reason.

"That's Gohan and Tenchi we're talking about. Not exactly perfect, no one is, but they're the two best boys in the world to us," Videl responded in reference to, and possibly for, both herself and Sakuya. "And seeing that much power come out of them? Of course we think that King Cobra over there is dead in the next five minutes!"

"So, now you decide to bring out your full power?" Kagato asked his opponents in the glowing signatures, back on the battlefield.

"No time like the present," Gohan replied simply. He and Tenchi looked to one another again and finally put on their smirks. Not only did they just power up to one hundred, they now had a game plan, one that Tenchi could permanently use in double team efforts from now on. Gohan flew up towards Kagato to attack him, but his uppercut attempt was dodged… barely. This took Kagato off his balance a little bit, but still, Gohan missed, so Kagato decided to take advantage. However, when he went for a punch, Gohan stepped around Kagato and got behind the Ruins Buster. Gohan waited for Kagato to turn around before giving him a quick punch to the chest, which began a combo of about ten of them. He followed that up with a quick spin kick that knocked Kagato down to where Tenchi was. Tenchi didn't let Kagato fall to the ground, instead opting to give him a few fists of his own, following which he kneed him in the head, sending the intellectual super being made of Masu all the way back up to Gohan's level. Gohan had already had his hands crossed over his head in Masenko position, and had charged the attack up enough for it to have a serious impact.

"Masenko… HAAAA!" he screamed out, launching the wave forward right in front of him, where Kagato was going to be. As luck would have, Kagato and the Masenko did butt heads at the exact point where Gohan suspected it would, causing a huge explosion that pretty much shook up the entire air, and much of the ground, around these parts. After that blast, one would be sure that Kagato was dead or in trouble.

"Right on the money! Ha ha!" Ryoko shouted, the high pitch showing her happiness at seeing Kagato get bashed in. _Just a little more, and he's away from me for good!_

"That's the way!" Raditz shouted as well, seconding Ryoko's confidence while also feeling great pride about his nephew being one of the ones completely pounding Kagato's head in.

"Yes! They're toasting him! Soon we'll have enough roast beef for everyone!" Mihoshi somehow managed to exclaim. They understood the point of what she was saying, but it still sounded weird enough that the mark of complete befuddlement would befall each of their faces.

Back over where the fight was actually taking place, there was such a thing as a roast Kagato. Or at least, there looked to be such a thing. For the large screen of smoke around him cleared to reveal that he actually was missing his right arm. What's more, in several places, there was smoke coming out of his clothes, which actually showed some slight wear. He was also shaking, beginning to get a little shocked about this pain.

_I'm going to have to put an end to this now,_ he thought, realizing the way that his body was beginning to tear on him a little bit. But first, time to regenerate. And with that, he reformed the missing right arm, so that long sleeve of his robe actually had something underneath it. This was a bit of a precarious predicament he found himself in. Now, Kagato looked at Tenchi on the ground, and Gohan in the air.

"Quite the strategy you've applied here," he began, speaking to his two opponents. "If I ever thought your plan of attack was limited, I surely don't think so now. We have Gohan in the air, and Tenchi on the ground. The double-edged sword trap. Nice. If I keep fighting for much longer, I'm afraid that I might not be able to survive. Which is why, as much fun as I'm having with this, I believe we only have a little more to go in this fight."

"What?" Gohan screamed out.

"We can't let him!" Tenchi shouted, obviously forgetting two word in there which didn't need to be spoken at all. Anyway, Kagato came down to ground level, which prompted Tenchi to start going at Kagato with straight fast punches and kicks; obviously, better than he ever could in the past. However, as fast and apparently strong as those hits were, Kagato was able to dodge and/or block each one, and even get in a _little bit_ of offense himself, before finally managing to blow wind energy at Tenchi and force him backwards, all the way into the rocky cliff where that brown hooded guy used to be. Working through the sting, Tenchi quickly got out of the little crater he made in the cliff and charged at Kagato, which Gohan helped out by charging in at the Ruins Buster from above. However, Kagato backed up a step, forcing Tenchi to go a little bit faster and Gohan to tilt his direction a slight bit. And that was enough for Kagato to have a decent shot at hitting Gohan once he flew up into the air. After taking the advantage on Gohan, Kagato decided to display his own combination burst speed by hitting Gohan with an evil dance of continuous punches to the face and chest. The last punch was a punch to the midsection, causing Gohan to favor it in pain while Kagato was free to grip his head and throw him down hard. Kagato then teleported down to where Tenchi was, trying to hit him, but Tenchi ducked and hit a leg sweep, tripping Kagato and forcing him to fall down immediately. Then, Tenchi used material conversion again, this time creating another sword, one that was actually a tad bit wider, and that actually was all completely of real material, though the blade's true body while attacking would be shown as that of blue energy like the Tenchi-ken. Knowing exactly what happened last time he came into a sword clash with Tenchi, Kagato immediately decided that whatever he did do, that is what he wouldn't do. He then remembered that he was down, so there was only one thing he could do that wouldn't result in him getting sliced off right there. That was to pull a last minute teleportation dodge as Tenchi heaved the sword down towards his face, Kagato ended up being behind Tenchi, but instead of taking advantage, he decided simply… to do nothing. He placed both of his arms behind his back and looked at Tenchi and Gohan, waiting for one to turn around, the other to get up, and both to face him. Once this finally happened, he was able to speak once more.

"Well, I must admit, boys, that I enjoyed this little visit of mine. However, I'd best be going home now," he said cordially, as if he had been talking with them rather than fighting them this whole time. "I have some… things to do, let's just say. Now, on my next drop-by, things will be different. But for now, you've impressed me. Goodbye."

"Wait, Kagato! You're not running away from us again!" Tenchi shot, starting to run at him. Once within striking distance, Tenchi went for a slash on Kagato, who easily leaped over him, but came down far away and again chose not to attack, though now his purpose for doing so was obvious.

"I believe I am. I have the lion's share of the say in this situation," Kagato began to explain. "I do recall that my name is Kagato, and that I am at the epitome of what I do as a space pirate, scientist, engineer of… alien objects, fighter, and devious genius, with a currently insatiable appetite for ultimate knowledge and power. I will not hesitate to kill anyone who is in my way, or who has drawn my ire enough for me to claim revenge. And though I am open to making pacts and alliances, I take orders from no one. How else can you explain me locking the one person who could have ever controlled me at all, which as you know would happen to be my dear professor, in frozen stasis within the reverse version of the Souja's chapel, hm?"

_What I hate about this is, he's right,_ Tenchi admitted to himself, though only inside his own head. _That's why we have to destroy him._ It was right then, that Gohan finally got up, and put his hands together, following a certain blue spark of energy began to form on them.

"Kaaaa… meeee… haaaa… meeee… HAAAA!" Gohan screamed out, sending the wave Kagato's way. Immediately realizing that the boy was not giving up, Kagato put his arms out forward to catch the wave and try to deflect it or something. Struggling to fend against it once he did catch it, Kagato found that its power transcended what he was applying of his own, and Gohan was perfectly willing to push further if the need came for push to come to shove. He knew that now, he would absolutely have to stop this, or else he would have no chance at all of survival. So, with one final push, the Ruins Buster finally began to take the advantage against the Kamehameha. But then, Gohan pushed even further, forcing the whole thing at a stalemate. In response to this, Kagato simply teleported out of the entire area, allowing the Kamehameha to trail forward until Gohan redirected it to go up harmlessly in space. Once it did so and blew up outside the atmosphere of any spatial bodies, a panting and battered Gohan looked to Tenchi while catching his breath.

"Oh, shoot! He got away," Tenchi lamented, not exactly proud of letting Kagato escape.

"I know," Gohan replied. "But look at it this way: we showed up, we didn't die, nobody gets destroyed. That's about the only really good part of it."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't exactly say we came out of it in the best of shape," Tenchi commented, beginning to grimace as he finally noticed how tired and hurt he was after this battle.

"We need to get up to the lookout," Gohan decided, "so that we can get some treatment. After that, let's just… try to enjoy the day and see where this whole thing goes next."

Tenchi looked at him as he said that, and seeing how easily his mind gravitated away from the fighting as the situation did, he couldn't help but throw a smile on his face.

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Raditz: "Vegeta! What brings you here?"

-Vegeta: "Actually, Raditz, I came to talk to you. It's about something I realized. Something I realized, that pertains to you."

-Madri Scholar: "Finally, a certain motive is coming to pass. I'm preparing to enjoy this."

-Tenchi: "For the next **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, the rest of our day is not exactly a bad one, as it's **Chapter 19: Just Another Day**."

-Washu: "Can't really say it's just another day. That title is misleading."

-Ryoko: "Are you sure about that?"


	19. Just Another Day

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Grand Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: Finally, I've gotten to this part. The part I've foreseen ever since even beginning to write this story. Damn the fact that it's taking me more time than I want it to in order to write these damn chapters nowadays. This shouldn't be happening, because once school comes back, I may or may not have the time to update this story frequently anymore. But enough about that, let's get to the chapter. This and the next will be a couple of the big ones.

**Chapter 19: Just Another Day.**

Up on the beige-golden super ship Ken-Souja, Nagi, Cell, and Garlic Jr. were watching the entire battle via the same transparent screens as before, which just faded out the minute Kagato vanished from the battlefield. And, as the story goes, he vanished from there, and appeared right behind them in here. Once they noticed his presence, Kagato's three partners in crime turned behind them to see him, being closest to his usual throne seat than everyone else as usual. The bruise marks and one small cut on his face, as well as all the slight tears in his clothing, are easy signals of the idea that he just went through a really tough battle, and that their enemies are not a big container of weaklings as might have been originally thought.

"Kagato, you really might not want to get too attached to that seat," Garlic Jr. stated somewhat humorously, though it didn't generate any laughs. "I was actually using it while watching your battle with Tenchi and Gohan. And I'm terribly surprised that you failed to get the job done, considering you're supposed to be the most versatile with your powers among the four of us."

"I'd appreciate it if you got quiet. First of all, this is both Tenchi and Gohan we're fighting here. Secondly, this isn't the same Tenchi you fought at the lookout," Kagato cut in to explain, which also immediately sent a message to his partners that he was not ready to take a whole lot more flak from any of them. "I could see that he's changed. He's become better, stronger, wiser. And the same can be said for Gohan, whom I had barely sensed any more than his own little brother back that day. But the strange part of it is, not only have they become much stronger physically and powers-wise, but they've also given us a huge deal to worry about."

"A huge deal to worry about, huh?" Nagi repeated questioningly. "So, what are you saying? They're suddenly so much better than before, and it transcends beyond improvements in strength?"

"Absolutely," Kagato answered, with completely undoubting and serious darkness coming all over his voice. "They've not only become better individuals, but it seems to me that in this short time, they've come to know each other like the back of their own hands. Not only are they the strongest fighters in the universe, they're the most cohesive unit of fighters. And I could see that they are truly determined to take us down."

"So, once again, we've got a couple of really good adversaries we have to worry about," Cell said to summarize the entire meeting, following which he narrowed his eyes into a dark and angry expression. "And once again… the really good adversaries we have to worry about, are Tenchi and Gohan. I hate every minute of this."

"Trust me, I know your anger," Garlic Jr. stated, being all too familiar with it himself just as he said. "You think I want to be sent back to the Dead Zone again because of Gohan?"

"Quiet! We already agreed that until we can find a way to make sure we can't get sucked in, that you're not opening the Dead Zone. Don't bring it up now!" Nagi shot at Garlic Jr. without hesitation, causing him to put on an irritated face for a few seconds. Once those were over, he looked to his taller partners, and finally had a good question to ask.

"So, who do we fight next, and which one of us will fight?" was the question that exited from the Makyo serpent prince's mouth.

"I don't think we should make up our mind on that this quickly," Kagato interjected, condescending towards the early mention of the next battle. "However, I have determined that one person we most definitely must destroy would happen to be Princess Sasami. She is apparently undergoing assimilation with Tsunami, and I remember having a vision of some magical alternate version of the Muyo realm, where Sasami gains magical powers taking her beyond all others."

"If either of these comes to pass, Cell and I could be felled by a kid _again_, except this time, it's a kid girl who has no business even being associated with the art of fighting," Garlic Jr. angrily assessed the potential situation that could arise.

Meanwhile, back at the now near practically completely torn apart location of Raditz's ship, he and Ryoko flew down towards Tenchi and Gohan. Ryoko was calling out Tenchi's name with some kind of wistful joy in her voice, making it even more obvious than her flying pattern could that she was going to try and smother Tenchi within one big hug again. Noticing this, Raditz knew on what and how many levels that would be a mistake, and immediately sped up his flight to step in front of her. However, once he did this, before he could turn around to face her and tell her to stop, Ryoko teleported all the way down to Tenchi's location, and gave him that smothering bear hug tackle from behind with a smile on her face. Raditz smacked his forehead in disbelief at how ridiculous this was.

"Ryoko, what the hell are you doing? Tenchi's injured from this fight with Kagato! You're crushing him!" he then shouted in tiredness of this crap, to which Ryoko instantly became alarmed and got off of Tenchi. She noted that Raditz's point was right when she looked at Tenchi, whose body was in fact shaking and waving from being pummeled under the weight. Back in the day, she crushed him all the time with her hugs, but since he became stronger, there's no way that could have happened. Meanwhile, the jet copter came in behind Raditz, just as Tenchi's bones finally stopped acting up and he managed to get into one-knee position, and the four that were in there stepped out. Videl and Kiyone came to Gohan's side, while Sakuya and Mihoshi came to Tenchi's.

"Tenchi! Are you alright?" Sakuya asked, her voice radiating like music to his ears as he looked up and she came down to look him face to face.

"Yeah, but I… I'm seriously gonna need a break after this," Tenchi answered, clearly struggling through some pain. "And that's not it. So's he." Gesturing with his head towards Gohan as he said this, Tenchi looked at the half-Saiyan, seeing Gohan in similar shape, except now standing.

"Well, you didn't beat Kagato, but you showed everybody how awesome you are," Videl said with a confident smile to her own boyfriend.

"If that's the case, then why don't I feel like I got the job done?" Gohan asked her, as well as himself.

"You didn't. But you might have brought us one step closer to getting the job done," Raditz answered in Videl's (and anyone else's) place as he walked over to his nephew, actually putting a smile on that usually uptight-looking face of his. "If I was watching the same battle as everyone here, you did char up Kagato quite a bit. Though you failed to thoroughly destroy him, what you did do has to speak for something. I don't think he sees himself as being invulnerable, or far superior to us. And that's a success at this point."

"Except for Nagi killing Krillin and Yamcha, _which pissed all of us off and started this whole thing_, nobody's been destroyed yet," Ryoko added, sounding quite frustrated at the idea, specifically at the part of that idea that involves all the bad guys staying alive up to this point.

"Let's go up to the lookout," Raditz finally suggested. "Dende can heal the boys."

"Right," Ryoko and the two GXP officials on their side all agreed simultaneously. Raditz took Gohan and placed him on his shoulder, while Ryoko allowed Tenchi to lean on hers for support as he walked. Videl took out something from her pocket and pushed a button on it which opened all doors in her jet copter, leaving enough space for both Gohan and Tenchi to exclusively take the back. Looking longingly at Tenchi as he sat and rested inside that vehicle, Ryoko wished that she could go in there and sit next to him herself. But knowing what he'd been through, she knew it was for the best that she left him alone to rest. He fought valiantly out there, better than even she could have dreamed of fighting herself. This was another part of the reason she was so enamored with him. Not only was he such a nice guy, he also showed loyalty and care… something that Kagato hadn't shown her, Ryo-Ohki, or Washu ever since she was born. At the same time, this made her glad to be with Sakuya instead of with her. Now that she was fully in her real self, she and Tenchi were so alike it was scary.

Videl could fly, and Sakuya was on good enough terms with Ryoko for the space pirate to give her a lift, so Kiyone and Mihoshi (Kiyone driving now of course) were left in the front seats of the jet copter. With Videl, Raditz, and Ryoko flying, Sakuya hanging onto Ryoko, Kiyone and Mihoshi in the front of the jet copter, and the tag team we may now newly anoint as the dynamic duo, GT, resting in the back, these eight made it up to the lookout, where Dende, Mr. Popo, and Piccolo were overlooking the earth.

"The big battle just finished. Kagato didn't exactly get destroyed, but none of us died either," Dende summarized, putting a smile of relief on his face at the last part of the statement.

"Yeah. That's true," Piccolo agreed, "but that being said, this fight hasn't changed any of the facts."

"Well, at least it didn't happen here. My plants would have been destroyed," the relieved Mr. Popo stated out of nowhere.

"Yeah, and I don't know if the sanctuary could handle another beating," Dende added in reply, keeping the smile as he did so, though soon he could hear the sound of an engine approaching from somewhere below. Only a few seconds later, he could see why. Videl, Raditz, Ryoko w/Sakuya, and the jet copter soon appeared, having just risen up to the lookout's level. Once they all made it on the ground, the jet copter's front doors opened, after which Kiyone and Mihoshi stepped out and revealed themselves.

"Hey, you guys. Where are Gohan and Tenchi?" Dende asked them within a slightly cheerful greeting.

"They're in the back, getting a little rest. You might want to take a look at them," Kiyone answered, looking behind her in the world. Dende ran over to the jet copter, and Videl used a certain personal open button to open each of the backseat doors. While Dende was healing Gohan, who was in the left side back door, the shed of the Brown Phantom opened, to both him and the Madri Scholar, both returning from somewhere now.

"Well, you made your intervention. But for some reason, I don't think it was all that very noticeable," the Madri Scholar commented uncertainly.

"I'd ask you if you were kidding me, but I think you're right," the brown hooded one replied. "Anyway, at least I got out into the open for once. Now, when it comes to you, I don't know what to say. I'm glad you're on our side and all, but I still don't see what you were relying on seeing happen as far as Raditz is concerned."

"You'll find out soon enough. I can't tell you how I know, I haven't noticed anything to tell me this," the Scholar replied. "But I just know that it can't stall much longer. Based upon the fact that you being here couldn't stall much longer."

"Oh, shut up!" the Brown Phantom objected, snapping his head in the Scholar's direction and almost yelling at that.

"Cool it, Phantom. I can actually see your face," the Madri Scholar informed him, to which he replied by pulling the hood over his head even further. The Madri Scholar had only one note about that: "You didn't exactly have to do that."

"Sorry. You had me worried," the Brown Phantom replied very simply. "Anyway, let's strike a bet. If your original plan comes to fruition today or tonight, I have to reveal myself earlier than I want to. As early as next time there's a fight between the good and the bad guys, to be exact. However, if it doesn't happen tonight, or if you try to have any further influence on it, you have to give me a cooler disguise than this and allow me to bother you wherever you go. Got it?"

"Right now, I'm too sure of the circumstance to even listen to the conditions. It's going to happen," the Madri Scholar affirmed, apparently accepting the bet without a care in the world. Finally, the Brown Phantom stepped inside the shed.

"If you're coming in, you'd better do it now," he then warned. "I don't have all day. I've got games to play to occupy my time."

Back at the lookout, now both Tenchi and Gohan were healed by Dende, and were standing alongside their girlfriends while facing the usual habitants of the sanctuary.

"So, I know you guys had to be impressed about Tenchi's performance against Kagato," Ryoko bragged, trying to put Tenchi over as the greatest.

"Yes, I was, to be honest," Piccolo replied. "These two have gone further than I ever thought they could go. I remember both times when Gohan put Garlic Jr. back in the Dead Zone as a kid. He was nowhere near this strong, but he still showed flashes of seemingly limitless potential. And we finally got to see it in full form."

"You've got to admit. Both of them did fight extremely well, to be able to school Kagato like that," Raditz seconded with a smirk. "I absolutely loved it. I mean, to think that those two could be strong enough to seriously challenge Kagato, it's incredible. I can't say I have that kind of power myself."

"What? I saw you in that practice fight against Goku, and you were damn impressive there," Ryoko noted in surprise at what he was saying.

"Yes, but not exactly at this grand level that they and Kakarot have accomplished," Raditz admitted with no shame in his voice, turning to her. "I'm more along the lines of where Vegeta's at, though slightly behind him. Anyway, can we go home yet? With a certain _someone_ (looks at Ryoko crossly) reminding me of my limitations, I'm beginning to get impatient." That last comment gave Piccolo a good reason to give an untrusting growl.

"Impatient? What are you talking about?" Piccolo instantly demanded, listening closely to the answer as his suspicions bloomed once more.

"I really want to get home right now. I have a day to live," Raditz explained with irritation in his voice (note that he didn't say "a day _left_ to live"). "Not to mention the chances that I get hacked by Washu about everything relating to that battle. I just want to get that over with right now."

"Actually, I think _we_ have that to worry about," Gohan corrected his uncle on the behalf of himself, Tenchi, and possibly their girlfriends as well.

"No, we don't," Videl countered, turning to him in a swift glance of disagreement. "You and I aren't staying with the Masakis today. Your mom's probably worried sick about you, and I don't need to tell you about my dad."

Speaking of dads, Gohan's dad suddenly teleported here, via instant transmission. He stood in the middle, between the respected trio that pretty much lived here and the heroes that just came from the battle with Kagato. He was facing his son, uncle, and the rest of the visiting entourage.

"Hey, everybody. Goku here," Goku greeted, with a soldier's salute towards Gohan and company.

"Dad!" Gohan exclaimed with a smile.

"Kakarot. I'm sure by now you know what a remarkable fighter your son is," Raditz said in praise to his nephew, and by extension, said nephew's father.

"I'm actually inclined to think it's not just him," Goku honestly replied. He then threw a smile of recognition towards Tenchi, which he and Sakuya quickly noticed, after which they smiled back. Ryoko, though surprisingly not as close to the couple as she could possibly be, couldn't help but throw a smile of her own in there as well.

"I told you, didn't I, Sakuya? He's become good enough to overcome and accomplish anything," he continued on, speaking directly to the black-haired shadow person, who responded with an elated nod during which she closed her eyes. Meanwhile, Piccolo turned to Goku, ready to speak, and turning down the topic.

"So, what should we do?"

"What can we do? Just relax and train, and be ready for the next time they come," Goku replied cheerfully, almost too cheerfully for just about anyone except himself at a time like this. "Like I can bet Raditz probably just said right before I got here, we have lives, and days in which to live them. (a/n: Kinda added some extra stuff, but close enough Goku.) The threats, they've clearly shown they aren't a piece of cake, but if we become completely obsessed with beating them, that's when they've got us guzzled by the throat."

"Couldn't say it any better myself," Ryoko replied in perfect agreement with all of his words. "If I lived every piece of my day thinking about how I'm gonna kill Kagato, I'd probably have already driven myself nuts. I still want to destroy him, but I'm glad to say, I'm not obsessed."

"I'm glad to hear and agree with that. Now, Gohan and Videl, you two go ahead and go on home. Hercule's paid us a visit, and having to deal with him and Chichi under the same roof being worried sick about you two isn't exactly my favorite place to be," Goku instructed half-jokingly. With respectful nods, Gohan and Videl retreated to the jet copter. They entered the front seats, Videl pressed a button inside to close all the seats, and then she started the engine. A trail of dust was left behind, generating a few coughs from each person, as the jet copter got off the ground, then zoomed away from the lookout and retreated right back down to the surface level of Earth's atmosphere. Once that was finished, Goku could revert his attention to the six that needed to return to the Masaki household. "As for you guys: come over here. You're going back home instant transmission style."

"Wait. Goku!" Dende called hurriedly, stopping the exit proceedings right before Goku could get into his usual focus position. "I have to ask you something. Something very important." This made Goku stop immediately, and the others also did not take any steps. They were about to, but the possible magnitude of this statement put an end to all that, at least until the next sentence.

"How much of a chance… do you really think we've got? Do you think we can beat them?" he asked, hesitating somewhat. This was a situation of multiple major threats that they were dealing with, and to be honest, he was scared.

"Well, that's not easy to say," Goku answered in all his usual integrity. "I mean, with the right combination and the right moves, we can destroy them. But it's not just about destroying them. It's about keeping ourselves alive, physically and mentally. Like I said, we can't obsess about destroying them. But we also don't need to let them catch us completely off guard. So, with everything we already know it takes, plus with how strong and how smart they are, I'd say… if we're anything less than at our best in every way, it's not even worth trying." Dende lowered his head a small bit, pondering over the words that Goku had just told him. However, it didn't take much of that, or much time, for him to finally get the point, as he demonstrated when, in a completely serious and understand face, he lifted his head back up, looked at Goku, and uttered the simple two words: "I see." Goku looked at the guardian and could see that the choice he and the group to anoint Dende as the guardian of Earth back nearly a decade ago, though it was made mainly for there to be Dragon Balls, hadn't taken away from the prestige of the guardian's position in the least. He smiled, proud of the apparent accomplishment, and at last turned to the six Masaki clan members, including Raditz.

"Speaking of our lives, I think you guys need a lift," he finally said, getting back into his instant transmission focus position. Instantly sensing the Masaki residence, which did indeed have a great and widely spread out concentration of power, Goku now waited for all the members to walk over to him so that they could be making contact with him and/or each other, so that they could all get back home with him. Everyone except Kiyone, who was wondering and thinking about something this whole time, was in position.

"Kiyone! Come on!" Mihoshi finally called to her partner, which woke her out of her spaced out thought session. With a small apology, Kiyone ran to the rest of the group and got into contact with Mihoshi. Everything set, Goku and the group disappeared.

They reappeared, just a few steps away from the front door of the Masaki house. Most of the physical contact was undone right there, and Kiyone and Mihoshi became the first to walk in the house, cheerfully greeted by Ayeka. Raditz took his hand off of his brother's shoulder, and Ryoko was walking with Kiyone and Mihoshi, but only for a few steps, once she noticed that Raditz, Sakuya, and Tenchi hadn't taken a step yet.

"Are you gonna stay around, Goku?" Tenchi asked the once-unforeseen grand champion of all Saiyans, with his arm around Sakuya.

"Sorry, but I can't. I have to run back home and tell Chichi the news," Goku declined, making sure to explain. "Now, make sure you tell your grandpa I was right. Trust me, he'll know what I'm talking about."

"We'll do that. See you later, Goku," Tenchi affirmed, extending his hand forward, nonverbally asking for a handshake before Goku left. Seeing this, Goku accepted the gesture, before saying goodbye himself. He and his brother Raditz then exchanged a "thumbs up" gesture, before Goku got into his instant transmission focus position once again. Once he sensed home, he quickly vanished. Ryoko, Raditz, Tenchi, and Sakuya finally turned back towards the house, Tenchi knocking on the door first. The door was instantly opened, as usual, by Ayeka, who met his return with the typical anime closed-eye smile.

"Oh, happy day, Lord Tenchi! You've returned unscathed. I took the liberty of doing many of your chores while you were gone," she announced, bowing her head several times.

"Hi, Ayeka. Thanks," he greeted and acknowledged as he walked past her with Sakuya underneath his arm. After a few steps, Sakuya realized she bypassed her without a greeting. So, she got out from Tenchi's arm and traced back a few of her steps, in order to say hi to Ayeka. As usual, the Princess's return greeting of "Hello, Sakuya," was a little bland and unmoved, obviously detailing her lack of desire to be nice to Sakuya. Sighing inwardly, Sakuya walked on to Washu's lab, where hers and Yugi's room was. But that was before the announcement from Sasami that lunch was ready. Upon hearing Sasami's heavenly voice uttering those awesome words, she and the rest of the group had to go over to the table to see what great food she now had set up for the group. Even Ayeka and Ryoko managed to get in without a fight or argument which would require restraint from the currently civil-clothed Saiyan warrior Raditz. The only thing that couldn't happen was Mihoshi go down without making some kind of mistake, which this time resulted in the keyboard being left dangling off their computer office desk. Fortunately, Kiyone had noticed that and put it back in the right position.

As luck would turn out, this time, she mixed the culture on the items she prepared. Her dishes included some Chinese rice, along with mainly several different types of chicken, two or three of which were placed in each plate for each individual whom she knew would like it the most. (a/n: Now, Ryoko developed taste buds shortly after the Zero download from when Tokimi had sent Dr. Clay to get Washu (a.k.a. in my "transition period" from the OVA to Universe), so there was as much reason to carefully select something for her as well as anyone else.) The group sat down at the seats they obviously recognized as their own. Raditz had several plates of his stuff in his area (which basically consisted of jalapeno peppers, roast chicken, and roast beef to go alongside the rice) because of his obnoxious Saiyan appetite, which obviously reaped its own dividends. And, as the nature of the situation goes, he ate, the rest of them stood sickened and distracted; thus, he finished long before anyone else even began talking or eating. With that in mind, he just leaned back a little on his chair and relaxed, allowing himself to become the king of the listening world as Washu, who stayed out of her lab an unusually large amount of the time today, started the conversation on a very important subject.

"So, Tenchi. Care to tell us how well the battle went?" was the question she asked, bringing up the subject. Reminded of the lack of result that came from the battle, Tenchi's smile dropped, and the mood around him sobered.

"Well, I have to be honest. Gohan and I, we have gotten significantly better since before this whole assimilation and bad guy escape war thing started. That's the good part. The bad part is, nothing came of the battle. We failed to destroy Kagato," he finally admitted in defeat. Surprised at what she was hearing come out of Tenchi's mouth, Ayeka quickly swallowed the food she was eating and gave a not-so-short gasp.

"You failed?" she then exclaimed immediately after the fact. "But you came home with such a cheerful expression on your face!"

"You didn't exactly hear any of us make an announcement that a certain snakehead was destroyed. I think that should tell you something," Raditz irritably told her, not hesitating to get on the case of the First Crown Princess of Jurai… as well as on her nerves. Even Sasami began to get a little irritated, because this was her sister he was talking down to.

"Raditz, I believe I was speaking to Tenchi," Ayeka finally replied to the long-haired Saiyan while angrily grinding her teeth.

"I don't think anyone cares if you were talking to Tenchi. I doubt he even noticed. You can't even notice that Raditz just gave you the answer," Ryoko quipped immediately, not wanting to waste this opportunity to take a jab at Ayeka.

"Enough of this!" Yugi quickly shouted from her seat next to Sasami, getting in the way before this got out of hand. And right there, it got quiet, allowing her to proceed. "So, who was stronger? Kagato, or you two."

"Individually, I'd have to say it was Kagato," Tenchi replied, after which he took a spoonful of the rice into his mouth and began to bite.

"Yeah, but you and Gohan sure as heck know how to work as a team. Especially with that neat little strategy at the end. Kagato fighting Gohan in the air, then having to deal with you on the ground. I tell ya, I'm surprised he didn't become cat food," Ryoko interjected, trying to keep Tenchi's line of thought positive, as he certainly deserved it, in the fight and outside it.

"Thanks, Ryoko," he replied solemnly, warming Ryoko's heart greatly for a moment there. However, the moment didn't last very long, for there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" Sasami cheerfully announced, getting up from her seat at the table and going through the area to do as she said. She opened the door and found that Tenchi's father, Nobuyuki, was here, having just gotten home from work.

"Oh, hi Mr. Masaki!" she greeted happily with the closed-eye smile.

"Hi Sasami!" he greeted right back, coming in. Sasami went to close the door behind him, until she noticed someone coming down apparently from the sky. Keeping the door open and watching for who it was, she soon saw that it was no one harmful. Just the small man in the blue full body singlet with the black widow's peak.

"Vegeta! Hi! We weren't expecting you! Come on in!" she called to him in more happy greetings, even stepping aside to signal that he was welcome.

"Sasami, can you go ahead and tell Raditz that I need to speak to him now? And if anyone else tries to come, can you make sure they don't?" Vegeta asked her in his nicest loud voice, not walking any closer to the door.

"Oh, so you came here to talk to Raditz? Okay! I'll get him!" she answered, after which she ran towards the living room, where the house's eating table was. Once back there, she gave him the news.

"Raditz, Vegeta's outside, and he's looking for you," was the exact way she said it.

"Thanks," was the Saiyan's reply, before he left his seat, Sasami got back to hers, and he went outside to see that she was right. However, now he was right in front of the door.

"So, Vegeta. What exactly brings you here?" Raditz asked the smaller man before him. The sight of his former boss and old friend coming to see him can be accredited to the fact that Raditz failed to see that Vegeta didn't exactly have the absolute friendliest of looks on his face. Vegeta turned away and began to walk away from the house, leaving Raditz a little surprised.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Come on!" Vegeta shot, signaling towards himself with his arm. Finally, Raditz understood that Vegeta wanted him to come with him. Vegeta was leading Raditz all the way to the lake of water with several pieces of lumber (which were leftover parts of Ayeka's destroyed vessel, Ryu-Oh) that was right in front of the house, then walking along it.

"Okay, that's it," Raditz declared, stopping at a point where they'd gotten far away from the house. "What the hell did you come here to talk to me about, and what makes it so important that you have to lead me all the way over here?"

"Fine. Here's far enough," Vegeta decided resignedly, stopping and turning around to face his friend. "Now, as for my coming here. I came to ask you a serious question, one that's been daunting on me for the last day now. Answer me this: do you have any feelings for Ryoko?"

"Me? Feelings? You're kidding," Raditz replied with a cocky smirk and a tough guy pose, which at this point began to annoy Vegeta to (a childish interpretation of) no end.

"Excuse me! I didn't come here for jokes! I need you to answer my question for real!" he shouted in Raditz's face, which easily shook his pose.

"For your information, Vegeta, that is my real answer!" Raditz replied in an immediate. "Sure, she and I may have several likenesses to us, but there is no way that I'm falling in love with her! Why the heck are you asking me this stupid question?"

"Because, Raditz, it's not a stupid question! Obviously, these villains must know something that I don't know!" Vegeta retorted strongly, with strange and initially somewhat unacceptable reasoning.

"You know they're trying to kill your ego! Why are you asking me about this, really? Can I be allowed to ask if you have feelings for Ryoko?" Raditz quipped, his control becoming more and more stable with each piece of that statement/question.

"You know my heart beats for only one woman. And she, not Washu, is the true most brilliant scientist in the universe," Vegeta reminded Raditz; without yelling, he still displayed complete conviction in what he was saying. "And this isn't about me, Raditz. This is about you. This is about a sudden suspicion about you. Now, Kagato and his gang have suggested, twice, that you and Ryoko might be having some kind of intimate connection. We both already know what kind it is. And don't cut me off yet, because I'm getting to my point. The point is, upon some close consideration, I've thought it over very carefully, and it seems to me like every action that those plagues have committed so far, they've planned it out, to varying degrees. To be able to plan this stuff out, they've got to know us now like the back of their hands. And that also goes for them talking about you and Ryoko. Now, it could be that they heard me talking about several things I don't like about Ryoko, or that they know something about you two that I don't know. Anyway, I need an honest answer, Raditz. If I don't get it, then I can only assume that whenever the villains bring it up, that they're just trying to pick on me or call me ignorant or something. And to be considered ignorant by a bunch of lowlifes, that's what insults me. If I do know the truth, I'll be able to throw it right back in their face, and you'll finally be relieved of having to worry about it in the future."

Hearing this from Vegeta, Raditz was finally forced to think about it. It did make sense that he could be feeling something for Ryoko, or that they could be bound by fate or something. It was her that struck him as the most fun person in the Masaki household right from the start. It was her who he soon found himself most alike. The bad history, the outspokenness, and apparently now, the reform from being around family and friends so much. They also thought pretty much the same as well, which was the first really alarming thing about all this. He also realized that he was getting irritated with Ryoko's constantly smothering Tenchi whenever she got a chance, and remembered trying to stop that once earlier today, right after Tenchi and Gohan's fight with Kagato. For a moment, he didn't even know why he was ever there in the first place, until he remembered that he offered to come with Ryoko. Although he could argue against the possible sentiment by stating that he had motives unrelated to her for coming to watch the fight, it all culminated in the fact that had he not come to watch the fight with her, he would have been completely bored pretty much all day had he not gone _with her to watch the fight_. This proved more than anything that he had a higher level of comfort once around her than anyone. Being that he was not a man of love, however, and that she was completely enamored with Tenchi, he wasn't about to completely submit to the idea of being in love just yet.

So, he put that thought on limbo by finally saying something, breaking a three-minute silence during which Vegeta patiently waited for his response.

"I'm not exactly sure if I can answer that question right now. Maybe if I do some thinking about it, I'll know more clearly," he finally responded. Satisfied for now, Vegeta smirked.

"So you aren't completely void of emotion, at least not anymore," Vegeta realized aloud, half-expecting Raditz to make a clever retort about being "the cold one" or something.

"I became a _Super Saiyan_. I _can't_ be completely void of emotion," Raditz replied honestly instead, surprising Vegeta just a little bit.

"Fine. Take as long as you need," Vegeta told Raditz, before doing that "peace" sign with his middle and index fingers towards Raditz and flying off, back to the Capsule Corporation home building.

Finally by himself, Raditz decided that a small while alone would definitely work wonders for him as far as clearing his mind. Forced to seriously ponder what his feelings for Ryoko were, there was no way that he was going to face the group at this point in time. So, he went back into the house, but not by conventional means. He flew over to that window on the roof, which was in what was now his and Tenchi's room. He opened it, careful not to permanently mess it up, then floated down into the roof. He made sure to close the window before putting his feet back on ground surface, then leapt on Tenchi's bed and laid there, on his back, facing the ceiling, with his arms over his head. For a long time, thinking, trying to think, daydreaming. Try as he might, and he did try to avoid it for awhile, his thoughts always led him back to Vegeta asking him that damn question.

He knew that romance actually had the tendency to start this way sometimes. Someone would be asked if they had a crush on someone else, whether by their own friends or the other person's, or both in some cases, and then thoughts about the situation would make them "realize" that there was something there. According to what he'd heard, even Gohan and Videl had a little bit of that, though they were a rarity in that it happened to both of them courtesy of Krillin and that blonde Erasa girl Videl keeps talking about, but it had nothing to do with them finally getting together. Now a small piece of him told him that he was only thinking about this because of that confrontation with Vegeta. To a degree, it was true that this was the case. Whatever there was between him and Ryoko, if anything, he wouldn't be thinking about it if Vegeta hadn't brought it up. However, Raditz could also sense something about his thoughts. Immediately remembering why he chose to live with the Masakis, he realized that there was something there. He didn't know what it was, but whatever it was, it certainly wasn't there just because Vegeta said it might have been. It actually got to the point of taking an hour or two before he was interrupted, which only took place because Tenchi opened the door.

"Oh, Raditz. I was starting to wonder where you were," Tenchi acknowledged the tank top wearing Saiyan's presence.

"So you found me," Raditz replied, his voice completely devoid of his usual cocky charisma. Tenchi noticed that, and that Raditz looked a little spaced out, and took a few steps towards him in order to try to get a response out of him.

"What's the matter? You look a little spaced out," Tenchi asked, in plain surprise and concern. He didn't even get a reply out of Raditz. All he got was Raditz trying to give him a cross look. But it didn't exactly work: for some reason, Raditz's mode was thrown off. Tenchi finally turned away from Raditz and walked over to the closet in his room.

"I came here to get my training gi. I'm headed to the shrine," Tenchi finally revealed, hoping that he could get a reaction out of Raditz about that.

"Well, suit yourself," was the only reply that came from him, and it didn't even sound like. Tenchi stopped and looked at Raditz, completely dumbfounded at this. _What was it that Vegeta talked to him about that's got him being so moody all of a sudden?_

"What the heck happened to you? What was so important that Vegeta talked to you about that you're completely out of character all of a sudden?" Tenchi suddenly demanded out of nowhere.

"He and I were discussing Ryoko," Raditz explained, his voice beginning to regain some color to it. He was starting to get tired of Tenchi trying to pry into his business, and despite his currently unconcerned state, he intended on making sure Tenchi knew at least that much, as well as some of the information to

"Discussing Ryoko? What for?" Tenchi asked curiously, the idea of a discussion about Ryoko getting him interested enough so that he was still not done prying after all.

"It happens to be a certain pride issue, that is most credited for being a transformer of souls. It's how Bulma changed him," Raditz explained. _I could have said what it was in short, but I want him to figure it out._ Surprisingly enough, it didn't take very long. Without having even gotten the

"You're actually beginning to like her, aren't you?" Tenchi asked again with a smile forming on his features this time.

"I should tell you to shut up or threaten to bash your head in," Raditz replied as he turned to Tenchi with a smirk. "But on this one, you might just be right. Go ahead and embarrass yourself to your grandfather in training again and leave me in some peace so that I can think about it, please."

Smiling, Tenchi got his training gi from his closet, changed into it, and left the room, leaving Raditz to ponder the issue of his heart's being some more.

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Ryoko: "It's not that I don't want to, but… it's your words…"

-Raditz: "What about them?"

-Ryoko: "It makes me feel like I mean something. Like I'm not just a waste of time. I like it, but I thought I'd be hearing it from Tenchi."

-Tenchi: "For the next **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, I get to say "finally", cause it's **Chapter 20: Confessions**."

-Azaka: "Ah, the ultimate combination of truth. Love and destiny."

-Kamidake: "It really is a blessing of a break from all the fighting."


	20. Confessions

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Grand Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: The defining chapter. Right here and now. Oh, and two things:

1) The outfits for Ryoko and Raditz are important, at least to me, because someone's doing a picture of this scene for me.

2) If you know WWE professional wrestling, you know that a small piece of the confession is a direct shot at Adam J. Copeland, better known to the wrestling world as Edge.

3) My creative senses are burning out. I'm taking a short (possibly 1-3 days) break from writing in this story, so it'll be awhile before I post chapter 21. Speaking of wrestling, during that time, I'm hoping to finally update on my wrestling story, which is contributing to my burnout on this end, and finally play my video games for a change. (funny example: my brother beat "X-Men: The Official Game" first because I kept working on this instead of playing the game.) Hopefully, though, that's enough to recharge my batteries, as well as give me a little cooling down so I can continue to be awesome.

**Chapter 20: Confessions.**

The extra-dimensionally installed onsen, which Washu had created in place of the old downstairs bathroom so as to have a relaxing spot (mostly belonging to the girls), was now empty. There was no one there at the moment. But that was true just for the moment, as Ryoko would soon make her way through the double door and into the onsen. She did have a towel on covering herself, but not for long, as she teleported into the relaxing hot spring waters and completely ditched it, leaving the water to do the job the towel was doing before the sudden teleport. However, the mood behind her decision to just chill was very different from the usual.

Usually, she would just be in here, basking in the glory of her own carefree nature, thinking she was in heaven, until Ayeka and some of the others came in and completely turned the experience around into a banter session. But right now, that wasn't her state of mind on this one at all. Rather, she was actually starting to get a little worried about Raditz. She had noticed that Raditz seemed… no, was completely distant today. It was like he wasn't even here. Ever since he came out because of Sasami telling the guy that Vegeta was trying to talk to him, no one had seen him at all.

_Where the heck could he have gone to? The guy's usually cool. It's not like him to just fade away like that,_ she thought, unaware that he came back or that she was starting to break into someone else's character rather than her own. _I wonder if I should do something, maybe look for him for a little bit. Wait a minute…_ Something funny about this came into her head. _The way I'm thinking about this reminds me of Ayeka, whenever she worries too much about Tenchi. Holy crap! What could it mean…???_

Not that she was gonna be dragged down into thinking about it a little too much, or that she was about to become sleep-fogged any day soon because of it, but the question has now left her seriously wondering for a moment. Something did manage to disconcentrated her, however, and that something was the entry of Sasami and Yugi into the onsen. They both had towels on over themselves as well, but she could tell by the straps on their shoulders that both girls had either bras or swimsuits on. Physically, they were still too young to not use those. Anyway, the two of them came over and went into the water, and though they did make an effort to come to Ryoko, stayed next to each other, having no reason not to at this point.

"Hey, Ryoko. On our way here, we finally found out about Raditz," Sasami told her. Ryoko's eyebrows tilted upwards, and she turned towards the Second Crown Princess of Jurai, hinting her interest in the news that was being fed to her. "We ran into Tenchi, and he told us that Raditz went back into his room the whole time. He told me he couldn't tell me why Raditz was there, but then he asked about you."

"Oh?" Ryoko asked, her voice gaining its usual flair as the smile poured onto her face. "What did he say?"

"He just wanted to know where you were, that's all," Yugi answered this time, in her friend's place. "When we told him we didn't know, he just said to tell you that you need to talk to Raditz in a couple of hours."

"That's strange. Nobody trusts me to have a talk with someone when they're having problems. I don't even trust myself to do that half the time," Ryoko replied, halfway joking, halfway expressing curiosity over exactly why Tenchi would ask her to speak to Raditz.

"I guess he just wanted to give you a chance this time. We already know Sakuya's very good with this, there's the two of us - Sasami and myself - and Ayeka would have been chomping at the bit to do something good to get in Tenchi's good graces a little further," Yugi recanted, completing Ryoko's thought.

"I think there has to be some big, special reason behind all this. I just can't figure out what it is, though," Sasami mused, trying to contemplate the matter. There was nothing she could put a lid on as far as why Raditz would be so out of sync like this. She didn't know what to think about it, so she decided the following. "Oh, well. I guess you'll find out when you go talk to him, Ryoko."

"Sure, I guess," the space pirate replied nonchalantly. Then, three more towel-covered girls walked into the onsen: Kiyone, Mihoshi, and Washu.

"But I still don't understand. How was it that they couldn't spot that third person? And who the heck was that third person?" Kiyone was heard asking her GXP colleague and their super genius friend.

"Hold it, Kiyone. You're saying that you saw someone else there?" Mihoshi asked, being dense to the point once again. Kiyone's face was now boiling red with embarrassment and anger.

"What have I been talking about for the last three minutes!?" Kiyone snapped at her partner, causing Mihoshi to quiver in fear for a moment. Also, the three of them stopped walking from that point

"Relax, Kiyone," Washu told her. "Whoever that third person is, they're bound to show up soon." Right then, she noticed the three that are already in the water and, with a greeting of "Oh, nice to see you here Little Ryoko," caused her daughter/greatest creation to sigh in bored shame.

"Hi again _mom_," Ryoko greeted back. If it wasn't for the small hint of irritation at calling the little pipsqueak "mom", she would have sounded even less colorful than Ayeka had been in greeting Sakuya when they just got back to the house hours back.

"Aw, come on, Ryoko, don't be so grumpy!" Washu squeaked out, walking over to the spring. "Is the water free for us to come in?"

"Sure!" Sasami cheerfully announced, before Ryoko could get a word in edgewise. Though it seemed perfectly innocent enough, she had this habit of getting a word in before chaos could ensue, which nobody thought much about but was actually pretty integral to the family structure of the household. Even this place can have too many arguments for its own good.

While that went on underneath the sunset, the land of the Supreme Kais was filled, as usual, with the Elder Kai, Kibitoshin, Chiaotzu, and Tien giving their own analysis and two cents on the fight that they had seen nearly four hours and two chapters ago. The Old Kai's crystal ball was put away, so they did not really notice many current events.

"Now, that's what I call an excellent fight," Tien said, proudly smirking. "I enjoyed seeing how well Tenchi and Gohan did there against Kagato."

"No disagreements here. But what do you think this does?" Kibitoshin inquired.

"What do I think this does? I think this will have a tremendous impact on the situation!" the Elder Kai exclaimed joyously. "After that little scare, I can guarantee you that Kagato no longer thinks of himself as being so superior to the special forces of the universe. And that can have a tremendous effect on exactly what happens next."

"That could be, but there also could be something bad because of that," Chiaotzu stated unexpectedly, stirring a few heads here and there. The others' looks in his direction were of the very curious sort; they really wanted to know what negative effects could come of that. "I think now they know they can't underestimate us. In fact, I think that's what they've been trying to find out."

"That could be. I mean, it's true that no one got killed in the battles we've had done so far," Kibitoshin pointed out, actually pondering the tiny man's words. "It can be easily construed that they needed to know our strength, or at least the strength of our best fighters, just so they could know exactly how elaborate or how simple their plans would need to be."

"I really don't like this. Now, can someone tell me where the…" the Elder Kai was beginning to speak, when something caught the corner of his eye. The Madri Scholar had just appeared there in an instant flash.

"I don't think you were asking for me, were you?" asked the all-seeing eye of the universe.

"Actually, I was," the guardian of fifteen generations' past answered matter-of-factly. "Now, Scholar. I need to know something. I believe there was a third fighter there on the battlefield, one that absolutely no one saw coming, including myself. Would you mind telling me exactly who that third person was?"

"I believe that would be the one in the brown hooded robe, the one that interfered," the Madri Scholar correctly guessed. This was confirmed, with the nods of the others before him. "Yes, that one. He is the one that's been living at my shed all this time. He even has his own nickname for as long as he's in that hood: the Brown Phantom."

"Well, can you tell us who he really is?" Kibitoshin asked, his head poking forward as a hint of his eagerness to know the identity of this mysterious ally.

"While I do know who he is, no. I can't tell you," the Madri Scholar politely declined, without a hint of shame in his voice.

"Why not?" Tien demanded in a loud yell. As the Madri Scholar could tell, Tien obviously didn't think about the art of keeping secrets. However, that line of thinking would soon change.

"I can't tell you because that would be breaking a promise I made to him. He will appear in due time, however. You'll know who he is by the time this whole thing is over," the universal speed wizard finally replied, followed by several "ohs" of understanding from the faithful listeners before he could embark onto speaking about another subject. "Now, as for Kagato, I have to say that I'm completely disappointed. Not in Gohan and Tenchi, but in Kagato. Which should be taken as being meant in a good way, because this is a good thing for us."

"What are you talking about, you crazy wart of wizard priests!?" the Elder Kai demanded, adding his own little clever taunt in there as a hint to how much he dislikes (not to be confused with hates) this guy.

"I'm saying that he and the rest of his allies are obviously not at the top of their game right now," the Madri Scholar replied much more calmly than the question had been asked. "They're supposed to be some kind of evil masterminds, plotting and scheming their every single move. One would think they would have already made a significant impact against the planet or something by now. But all I see is some tests of power. This is ridiculous."

"Hmm… you're right," the Elder Kai realized, rubbing underneath his chin as he thought about it. "This may work in our favor indeed. But then again, this could also be a detrimental development."

"A detrimental development? What are you talking about?" Kibitoshin asked, a hint of panic in his voice.

"This might be what they were waiting for to make their plan," Tien answered, now having understood where Chiaotzu and now the Madri Scholar were going with this. "Or maybe they're still watching, still waiting, still trying to find something to capitalize on."

"Either way, we must keep our eyes peeled for anything suspicious, while at the same time remaining sane," the Madri Scholar stated, taking a page from Goku whether he knew it or not. Speaking of Goku, Hercule was actually visiting the Son home, having been transported there by Videl via jet copter as opposed to his private jet, which would've attracted too much attention to the Sons. Videl and Gohan were still going out on the town, but he'd insisted on wanting the trip to Goku's place, so they gave it to him. He wasn't the only visitor that had flown in, however. There was also Vegeta, and he had flown in manually, as in by himself, without the assist of a vehicle. Of course, unlike Hercule, he knew the basics (and much, much more) of ki abilities. The same would go for his son, who he brought along with him, almost as soon as he'd returned to Capsule Corp from the Masaki household. Anyway, at the moment, Goten and Trunks were both outside, running around, playing training games (such as rock throwing speed and endurance challenges, which Goten somehow managed to beat Trunks in more than half the time; probably because he was more experienced at it), Chichi was standing there watching them to make sure they didn't play too rough, and Goku was inside, at the dinner table, putting together a deck of Uno cards that Vegeta and Hercule had just finished playing with. Vegeta beat Hercule 3-1 in a best of seven series in the popular card game "Uno". And quite frankly, anyone would get tired of being beaten by an egotistical prince. So, Hercule didn't even bother asking for a rematch. Rather, they just settled for a chat.

"So, can I get the scoop? What's been going on?" Goku asked his buddies and two more prominent partners in the defeat of Kid Buu. Hercule didn't have the answer, but Vegeta did, and he had the smirk on his face to show for it.

"Raditz is in love with Ryoko but he doesn't even realize it yet," the Prince of all Saiyans proceeded to announce, using a somewhat dark, silent-like suspenseful tone in order so as to exaggerate the levels of hype until they reached the entire universe. Hercule jumped out and screamed a very loud "WHAT!?!?", and Vegeta more than half-expected Goku to do the same, but was soon about to find himself terribly disappointed or something.

"Oh, that. I think I kinda knew about that a long time ago anyway," he surprisingly stated without so much as a small extension to his vocal pitch. Hercule and Vegeta both looked at him completely gob-smacked. In the exact words of Vegeta's mind right now, _How in the living hell did he know about that!?_

"What's with the big surprised looks, guys? He's my brother. I'm supposed to know this stuff," he reminded them almost half-pleadingly, as if he really wanted and expected them to not look so shocked.

"But… Kakarot…!" Vegeta managed to exclaim, barely even managing those words. He managed to regain his composure after shaking his head violently for half a second, however, and continue. "He never said anything! How could you already know!?"

"Oh, I could tell he liked one of the girls. Remember at the lookout, after Tenchi's fight with Garlic Jr.?" Goku asked, trying and hoping to ring a bell with a statement about something familiar. "When he asked if Tenchi could stop Ayeka and Ryoko's fighting for him if he went through the training?" Goku asked. "We looked at each other, and right away, I knew he liked one of them. And if I know the girls right from these few days, Raditz has got a lot more in common with Ryoko than he does with Ayeka."

"So you're not as dense off the battlefield as I was supposed to think after all," Vegeta realized aloud, him and Goku smiling at one another because of it.

Now, because I simply can't think of anything for Hercule to say in a situation like this, he wasn't active in this part of the conversation, but he was in the next. However, we're not going to the next part of the conversation. We're going to completely skip the next part of the conversation, and even the next couple of hours. At the same time, we are going back to the extra-dimensional onsen of the Masaki household.

By now, all of the girls that were in there before have had their little banter session/argument and left the onsen. All of them, that is, except for Ryoko. Even Ayeka ended up going in just to check on Ryoko, thinking that if she was alright, then Ayeka would verbally fight her once more, as was their habit, and in this case, she was prepared to completely win the argument. However, after seeing that she was wondering a little too hard about something, the First Crowned Princess of Jurai hadn't even bothered to keep on going with it. She tried civilly talking to Ryoko, asking her if she was alright, but wound up getting no response. At this point in time, Ryoko was still soaking up all the water in the onsen, having yet to find the energy to really move, whether it be physically moving out of the waters, or taking her thoughts anywhere beyond the Raditz situation. Fortunately for her, she wouldn't just completely wither and die in the onsen. And that was only thanks to Tenchi and Sakuya, who entered the onsen, though fully clothed. They weren't here to join her, they were here to tell her to get out.

"Hey, Ryoko. I see you got Sasami's message," Tenchi called to her, which finally got her attention because it was that familiar voice she had already established within herself she would die for. Finally, Ryoko got up.

"Hiya, Tenchi!" she squealed out in typical sing-song-like voice. Not only did she get up, she also teleported behind Tenchi and tackled him… again. Luckily, this wasn't just coming out of a fight, so his bones were in much better shape than last time. Also, Sakuya managed to get a laugh out of it, in the midst of which she did tell Ryoko to let go, however lighthearted that request did sound. After a couple of taps on the shoulder from the Kumashiro Kid, Ryoko did finally get up off of Tenchi and allow him to get up.

"Seriously, you two need to stop meeting like that," Sakuya told them with a smile, still managing to chuckle about it. However, now Ryoko was ready to get to the serious question.

"Okay, so Tenchi. Can you tell me why you want me to go talk to Raditz instead of one of you guys?" she finally asked. Tenchi instantly realized what she was talking about after a brief moment of confusion due to the sudden switch of topic.

"Oh, yeah. He wants to talk to _you_. As for the special reason why, you'll have to go see for yourself," Tenchi explained. While the explanation was very vague, Ryoko trusted Tenchi with every piece of her being, because that's Tenchi: unless it's old man Katsuhito disguised as him, and usually somebody could tell and give it away, the guy hasn't a single bad boy bone in his body. Besides, this meant Raditz was giving her the cause of his sudden moping problem up-front, the information that she had wanted to know ever since he talked to Vegeta. Ryoko now suddenly "phased" back into the outfit she had been wearing earlier today: a black kimono-like long-sleeve dress shirt with teal blue lining, and black long tights with teal blue accents. (a/n: she has several "phasing" powers as well, including phasing into an outfit: it suddenly appears on her.)

"He's up on the roof, if you need to know," Sakuya informed the space pirate. Ryoko looked at her and threw her a wink in reply, following which she walked out of the onsen. Tenchi and Sakuya did not even bother to follow behind her. Now, why they did that is kind of a mystery. One could guess that they were trying to enjoy a moment or something. However, their true reason lies in the location of the onsen. Technically, it's in two places. While you enter it from inside the house, going through the double doors where old downstairs bathroom used to be, the visual location of the onsen, as one can see once looking out from inside it or vice versa, is actually above the lake in front of the house. At this point, we go over to the rooftop, where Raditz is sitting at the edge. Ryoko just phased through all three floors of the house to get up to the rooftop, then once she saw where she was, she teleported to sitting right next to him. Instantly feeling her presence there, he turned around to face her, as she did him.

"So, you wanted to tell _me_ what's been bugging you ever since we got back?" she asked softly, showing genuine concern for her friend.

"Something I neglected to really think much about," he answered, his voice equally soft and non-humorous. "Vegeta just brought it to my attention. You and I, Ryoko, we're so much alike. We have so much in common. I mean, we both get pissed off at pretty much the same things. We both agree that Sasami's much nicer than Ayeka. We both have dealt with controlling chump stains who take the universe as a plaything."

"Yeah. Actually, I gotta agree. Plus, we're both kinda the same as far as person goes. I'm a kick-ass-now, do-as-I-want cocky little troubled girl crossed with your typical heroine, and I'm damn proud of it. As far as I can see, you're the guy version of that… plus you're a little worse. (chuckle) But where the heck are you going with this? Cause I'd hate to think you bugged yourself all over the place just thinking about how similar we are," she asked, starting to get annoyed with the whole thing.

"But that's only a part of it. Ryoko, there was something about you. From the moment I set foot onto this Earth again and I laid eyes on you, I could tell you would be some fun company. And so far, it's clicked to perfection. Almost too perfect," he went on. Part of Ryoko liked the praise, while the rest of her figured he was apparently making some big long speech and was praying for him to just get to the point and get it over with. However, she wasn't going to tell him that exactly.

"You're getting somewhere with this, right?" she asked, after which he gave her a smile. Surprisingly, the smile was warm and completely void of ego. He looked completely at peace. It was something she'd expect from Tenchi. The surprise on her face was evident, but Raditz either didn't care about it that much or he hid it really well.

"It's actually very funny, though not in the hardy-har-har sense," he said. "I was thinking about you all day today. About us. Ever since Vegeta brought it up, I've been thinking about us, trying to find where we are, and where I want us to be. I have no intention on sounding like a lovesick softy, but then again, it doesn't matter. Whether I try to avoid sound like that or not, what I'm about to admit still means I'm about to throw away everything I ever thought I knew about Saiyan pride."

Right then, she knew exactly where he was going with this. But hearing these words coming out from the mouth of Raditz was the most unexpected thing in Ryoko's five-millennia-long life. As her colorful golden honey eyes narrowed and her mouth gaped wide open as accentuation to the shock she felt in her heart and mind at the mere chance of this, she wondered what in the world could have made him say such a thing. But again, she didn't use her thoughts within the words in her response.

"So, you're saying that… that you're… in love with me?" she managed to ask instead.

"I realized it just before telling Tenchi to bring you here, that there's no way in hell I can honestly answer that question by saying no," he finally admitted, ending the buildup that had been brewing within his mind and heart ever since he saw her. "So, yes, Ryoko. I lo-"

"You don't have to keep going. I'm not gonna let you completely take yourself down by letting those words escape your lips," she intervened, immediately cutting him off before he could utter the three words of change. "It's not like you at all to say that. To think you were even beginning to make that step, that's improbable. I won't believe it if you say those words."

"If you'd let me finish by going on to say those words, I would tell you not to jump at the opportunity, not to try and be with me, because I'm afraid of you changing," Raditz revealed immediately after the interruption. "I know you want Tenchi, and I have absolutely nothing to say about that. I've heard of a wrestler who took his so-called "best friend's" girlfriend away from him and then basically turned her into his own whore. And that's not on-screen. That's in real life. I'm not saying this for you to stop pursuing Tenchi, or to change and to become my personal whore. This is coming from me. From within. From my heart of hearts."

"So that's it," she trailed off, as it was finally sinking in. _This is what's been bothering him this whole time. Whether or not he loves me. I never thought it would be real, but… I feel happy. It's like I've been waiting for this for a long time. Except I haven't been waiting for it from him, I've been waiting for it from Tenchi._ "I don't understand. What's going on here?"

"It's exactly as I said," he stated somewhat matter-of-factly, though his tone was still never-changing. "And I don't need you to say or do anything. You can leave now, if you want."

"No, I don't want to leave. You make me feel like I really mean something to you, just by getting me to come here and telling me this. I don't want that feeling to end just yet. I'm not going anywhere," she boldly declared, catching Raditz by surprise for a second in time. "I'm just a little shocked because… I expected that it would be Tenchi, not you. But at the same time, it warms my heart just the same. I think it comes from me thinking of you from time to time as the coolest guy in the house."

"You're doing exactly what I said not to do. Don't change because of what I've said to you," Raditz told her in objection to what she was saying, fearing that his previous words had come into effect. "Tenchi's the one you've always wanted. Just protect his and Sakuya's relationship, so that you can continue to be as close to him as possible. If something happens to Sakuya, he can come to you."

"No chance. I'm not doing what you told me not to do. This thought is coming from somewhere else," Ryoko replied, her tone strong and firm with each and every word that she uttered in this paragraph. "I'm not changing my emotions because you told me your feelings. I would've blown you off and ribbed you if it wasn't the real me thinking. But I remember that day. The day that your brother and his sons fought again Cell, and Nagi came in to stop it, and we both got there too late. I remember thinking about how we both wanted to crush them, and then I got to thinking of how similar we were, and how every time we fought with words, whether it was on the same side or against each other, it was completely natural and the chemistry just flowed. That was the first time I realized I was starting to notice you, and my interest in Tenchi was shrinking. And now I know why. It's because I've always needed someone like me. Someone like you. Someone who truly understands what I've been through in my life, and who would rather defend me than shove it in my face. And, Raditz: that's you. And that's what's driving me right now, to say that… I'm in love with you as well."

Try as he might, Raditz could not avoid having the same shocked expression on his face as Ryoko had had earlier. Was she being serious, or was she just stringing him along? It was completely unbelievable. The day he confessed, to himself and to her, exactly what he felt about her, was never supposed to be the same as the one she did so! It's happened in other cases, but it was never supposed to happen now! And how was he to know her interest in Tenchi had shrunk? She still kept hopping on him as much as ever!

"Hey, if you're confused, let me just tell you this: me and Tenchi, I know where we are. And I know that it'll never change. But I'm happy, because Sakuya's the best girl for him," she replied honestly, admitting to herself and to Raditz now what she would've never dreamed of even realizing back while Sakuya was first seeing the boy. "But my feelings for him have only receded because of how I feel about you. They haven't ceased to exist yet. Plus, I'm too used to trying to seduce Tenchi right now as it is, so that's not gonna be your assurance."

"Then what…" Raditz stopped himself right there: he was beginning to snap and let the ego seep out again. After that slight hint of irritation, he receded himself with a sigh, and was soon finally ready to say it right. "If that's not my assurance, then tell me what is."

"Ever since you left lunch to talk to Vegeta, I've been sitting there in the onsen worrying about you. I knew it wasn't like you to just off and vanish like that. I found myself _really_ wanting to know what it was that was bugging you. If there was ever a day for me to believe in fate, it's about to pass," she said, before finally taking his head with her hands and pulling him into a passion-filled mouth to mouth kiss. Upon looking at the moment from the edge of the onsen, Tenchi and Sakuya smiled.

_Well, Ryoko,_ Tenchi thought, _I guess I can say the chase was kind of fun while it lasted. After all, it did show that you care about me, which shows for something. But I can also say, it's finally over. You've finally found your soul mate, just like I found mine._

"Look! He's kissing her back," Sakuya nearly shouted, pointing towards Raditz and Ryoko. When Tenchi looked, he noticed that Raditz now had his hands on Ryoko's shoulders, indicating that he was indeed reciprocating the kiss. The image was semi-scary, seeing as how unlike him that is. It was almost a miracle that it was over, as far as the participating couple and the spectator couple, for different reasons all around. Tenchi was glad he didn't have to see Raditz so far out of character. After awhile, Ryoko began to lean on Raditz' chest, and he put his arm around her. Both had their eyes closed. Then, Sasami's voice bellowed out with the typical call of "Dinner's ready, everybody!" and both Raditz and Ryoko finally opened their eyes and got out of the photo position.

"That wasn't like me," Raditz realized aloud, though in a sense, he was also joking to his brand new girlfriend. "Next time we do that, we'll save it for a Rated R celebration of when we get rid of the ones we've got to destroy."

"Sure thing," Ryoko agreed, before getting a little confused about… "Wait a minute. Rated R."

"What kind of people are we, and how do our names start?" Raditz asked, after which she finally got it.

"Oh, yeah! Rated R!" she exclaimed, finally getting it. "Come on. Let's go."

Meanwhile, if one thought that Tenchi and Sakuya were the only ones watching the double-term of love and destiny work itself out, there was another group of people watching. It consisted of the certain threat that was within the Ken-Souja, watching from those holograph-like phantom monitors that they made show up at the center of the Souja's chapel, right before its throne spot… again. Those very four were actually paying attention to this. Nagi, Cell, Kagato, and Garlic Jr.

"So, they've finally become smitten, just as I thought they would," Cell observed, his voice showing off a little bit of intrigue. He looked to Kagato, the partner that was almost as tall as he was, and saw that the supreme Masu energy being grew an insidious grin on the features of his face.

"Well, now the time has come. I've already found myself coming across with a perfect idea, with which to end this incredibly beautiful love story on the most tragic of notes," Kagato revealed, as the evil grin just grew, both in size and in evilness. "And then, it is only a matter of time before our enemies' resolve is broken. Soon, the Z Fighters and the Masaki clan will have absolutely no option, but to submit and wield down before… the Emporium."

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Madri Scholar: "It seems I've discovered something very odd about a peculiar realm."

-Kibitoshin: "What?"

-Madri Scholar: "There's an alternate version of the Muyo realm, in which a certain fantasy of Sasami's does indeed come true."

-Sasami: "Wait just a minute! You don't mean…?"

-Tsunami: "Yes, Sasami. It's true. And there might be a way to replicate it here."

-Sasami: "For the next **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, my Time & Space fantasy could come true in **Chapter 21: The Magical Chances of Pretty Sammy**."

-Trunks: "And then with the spectacular tag team of Pretty Sammy and Gotenks working together, there's no way that Garlic Jr. shrimp and the rest of those creeps could ever survive!"


	21. The Magical Chances of Pretty Sammy

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Grand Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: After taking a break due to my creative senses burning out, it's about time for me to finally reign supreme once again. Unfortunately, I never really got to update my wrestling story yet, but nevertheless, tha Grand Champion is back in action! By the way, peeps. No way in hell is this gonna be a fight chapter. I believe the burnout started when I got to writing fights.

**Chapter 21: The Magical Chances of Pretty Sammy.**

First of all, we must begin with a small detailing of the events that occurred during dinnertime at the Masaki house, which was immediately after the shift of hearts that destiny had set up to bring Raditz and Ryoko together was finally complete. While Ryoko phased right through the floors and walls all the way to the table, Raditz walked down like everyone else, so as to leave everyone who didn't see their coming to be unsuspecting. This time, Sasami had some delicious soup set up for everybody, which quickly took the group's attention. Most of them, thankfully including Ayeka, didn't notice that when Raditz came to his seat next to the space pirate, he and Ryoko looked at each other with smiles on their faces. This only made it even more awesome when, following Raditz's typical Saiyan speed-eating (in this case, more like speed-drinking) binge, the two finally announced what had happened on the house roof just a few minutes ago. The entire group, with the exception of Tenchi and Sakuya, as well as the late-appearing Washu (who saw it via her telepathic connection with her daughter), was left nothing short of gob smacked and speechless at this news. But as the new couple explained their actions and thoughts to their audience, a few of them came to realize that every little thing that led to it made the whole arrangement fit quite well, and that their alignment was for the best.

Meanwhile, the look on Ayeka's face soon became one of overt happiness, as she realized that this now took Ryoko out of the battle for Tenchi, leaving only Sakuya in her way of claiming her love. However, once she brought up the event, Raditz and Ryoko failed to promise her that she was right, instead opting to point out the difference between Sakuya and Ayeka which made Sakuya better than Ayeka any day of the week as far as being with Tenchi. Surprisingly, when Ayeka threw a tirade and started to slag off Ryoko, Sakuya actually stood up for the Princess. (Her reasoning behind this is that she'd rather not let Ayeka believe that she's got no chance, since the mere idea that she could ever get Tenchi was half of her livelihood, the other half being the feeling of honor that Ayeka felt when remembering that she was the Princess of Jurai. Also, she was hoping that Ayeka would start to see her as a friend rather than as an enemy.) Despite her acrimonious sentiments towards the pale-skinned "normal" girl, Ayeka did appreciate having her as backup this once.

Mihoshi, meanwhile, managed to nearly destroy the experience once again, this time merely by saying something. She somehow managed to figure out that Ryoko wasn't going to stop coming at Tenchi from time to time, and actually asked why. Ryoko was forced to stormily explain what she had explained to Raditz much more calmly earlier. Once again, Ayeka was ticked into another argument with Ryoko. However, this one was ended by Sasami giving her some tea to drink. Unbeknownst to her big sister, this cup of tea had been laced with laxatives, which made Ayeka calm down a little, then quickly go to sleep. Luckily, she didn't fall face-first into the food, or she would have been laughed at for minutes on end and powerless to say or do anything about it. The rest of dinner went on uneventfully, and then with help, Sasami led Ayeka into the Jurai sisters' bedroom and set up their futon beds. Following this, everybody just went to sleep, Raditz going into Ryoko's room instead of Tenchi's this time.

Meanwhile, speaking of those that were asleep, we know about a group of people that were wide awake. Most specifically, a group of evil people that were wide awake. The Emporium at the Ken-Souja were going to retire for the night soon, but not quite yet. At the Ken-Souja chapel, the villains were no longer looking at the situation through holographic phantom monitors, but they continued to ponder and discuss Kagato's plan.

"So, what you're telling me, is that this was the big moment you were waiting for?" Cell asked Kagato questioningly, obviously disappointed about something. "All these fights that we've gotten into, and you were waiting for something like Raditz and Ryoko falling in love in order to come up with your plan!?"

"Need I remind you of something, Cell? Sometimes, the most effective of plans need to be triggered by subtle deeds rather than other seemingly big events," Kagato explained confidently, still smiling about the plan that he had cooked up. From the sounds of it, Kagato came up with this based on what he and his cohorts saw as far as Ryoko and Raditz falling in love, and Cell objected strongly to that fact.

"What's to say this even works? What if it doesn't? What if it backfires and leads to our death somehow?" Cell speculated fearfully. All of his teammates could see that he was a little bit freaked out because of how something like that backfired on him before, and Gohan ended up killing him as a result. Of course, he intended for it to backfire, but the resulting power was too much for him. He'd rather not see another backfire in the "break of resolve" plan ever again.

"Cell, take it from me. I know this works," Garlic Jr. intervened, walking over towards Cell and Kagato so as for them to acknowledge his presence. "If you have any kind of un-darkened heart, when you see beautiful love like that get destroyed just as it begins to truly blossom, your entire resolve breaks. Whether slowly or quickly, that is the event of destiny. You see, Cell, there are two separate breaking points in the world. The breaking point that drives one to rage, and the breaking point that destroys someone from within. So far, we've only reached the first one. We have to go straight to the second one, and I don't see how else to do it."

"Yeah, but not even this is guaranteed to work," Nagi finally spoke up, stepping up as well. "I'm not saying this isn't a good idea, or that it isn't worth a shot. I'm just not entirely convinced that there's no chance it doesn't work, you know?"

"Coming from the one who wants to destroy Ryoko so badly, I'm surprised. I thought you would've been chomping at the bit to do this," Garlic Jr. commented, causing Nagi to scowl in a near fit of rage. Ryoko's the reason she was this way. She's the reason Ken-Ohki ever got injured in the first place, the reason he was living through a glass jar giving power to the Souja. And if there was anything she'd rather do than make Ryoko pay, one would be hard pressed to ever find out what it is.

"Damnit, I know I'm gonna regret saying this, but I want to be on the front line for this!" she finally screamed out, not leaving too much time between the buildup and the release of aggression. Finally, something came to her, in the form of a very good question. "But how are we supposed to keep the others out of the way?"

"We don't. They simply get killed in the crossfire," Kagato answered, re-injecting himself into this conversation. "It makes the effect a little worse." Upon hearing this, Nagi shared in the smirk that was visible through Garlic Jr. and Kagato's faces. Even Cell had to admit now that the idea seemed a little better and more effective now than it did before.

"But as for now, we have to retire for the night," Nagi reminded her comrades, after which she turned her head in the direction of Ken-Ohki, who was beginning to get a little tired on that pillar. She walked over to him, and knocked on the glass dome that was on the pillar. Of course, he responded by stopping the buildup of energy that was beginning to wear him out tonight. The glass dome receded, and Ken-Ohki leapt off and went onto Nagi's shoulder, returning the color-differentiated and power-enhanced Ken-Souja back to the original Souja that it once was.

"Okay, Ken-Ohki. It's time to rest. We don't want you using too much power," Nagi said to the cabbit, following which he made his trademark "Chou!" noise. Garlic Jr. looked at Nagi and saw how much she cared for Ken-Ohki, which once again brought upon him a hint of irritation.

Meanwhile, at the Capsule Corporation, Vegeta made one last-minute phone call before going to sleep. Going into an area of the house that was quiet at this time, and dialing in a familiar number that he knew all too well, the Saiyan Prince held the phone up to his ear, patiently waiting for someone to answer the phone. After about sixteen seconds of ringing, the phone was finally answered, with a certain friend's tired "hello?" for an answer.

"Kakarot, it's me," he said quietly, so as not to wake anyone up. "Good to see you're still awake."

"Oh, hi Vegeta," Goku replied tiredly on the other end, followed by a yawn. Right then, Vegeta realized that the guy was obviously about to go to sleep, if he wasn't asleep already.

"If you're still awake, listen to me. I don't think we're done bothering Raditz about Ryoko," Vegeta began, a smirk coming onto his face as he said this. "I get the feeling that maybe something happened. I'm going to stop by your house to pick you up tomorrow so that we can go and check it out."

"Uh… okay, but could I please get off the phone right now? I need to get some sleep," the tired Goku replied. Vegeta's pride was almost sickened at the idea that Goku not only was only halfway paying attention, but that he was bluntly asking Vegeta to let him go to sleep. It was nearly enough to make the Saiyan Prince's blood curl. However, he resisted the urge to completely kick the crap out of anyone and instead opted for a reply of…

"Fine. Go get your sleep. I have mine to get to right now anyway. But tomorrow, get ready."

He hung up immediately after saying that, without even looking back at all to even try to realize that something was going wrong about this whole thing.

Meanwhile, somewhere out, deep in space, far away from the Earth's solar system, the Madri Scholar was in the midst of looking for something, and what looked like a young woman, apparently about 5 years or so older than Ayeka would appear to be to the naked eye, was standing alongside him. She resembled Sasami in that she had blue hair and pink eyes. However, her hair was a bit darker, and she was taller than Sasami, probably even a little bit taller than Tenchi. She wore some kind of royal or holy garment which basically consisted of the colors blue, white, and pink, which along with the accentuated glow she had, suggested that she was some sort of heavenly figure.

The area they were in was on a planet with an essential blue sky whose light was basically the color of every single thing that was on the planet. Currently, the Madri Scholar and the heavenly beauty (and this is not just giving the girl credit on her looks, she really is a kind of heavenly being) were standing at the edge of a pond, deep within a forest, stacked with trees, and this planet's usual highlight of blue. Overlooking the pond, the two apparently had no idea that they were being overlooked by some kind of blue phantasm that looked exactly like Vegeta did back before the planet Vegetasei was destroyed, with the old rit outfit and all. The only difference was his radiant blue phantom colors.

"So, please tell me again, what is this wand supposed to do?" the young woman asked, her voice just as beautiful as her figure. Though he was trained well enough to not lose focus in the face of beauty or fall in love at all during his work, the Madri Scholar did notice that for the first time in years, he was in the presence of something awesome.

"I don't even know for a fact whether it exists anywhere around here. But I believe that if it does, it may just be what we need to rid ourselves of all this villain mess," the Madri Scholar replied in confidence. "Due to this realization, I couldn't even overlook the Masaki house to see if anything happened with the pairing I had planned."

"You mean Raditz and Ryoko? I believe that something has happened," the woman replied, turning to him with a knowing smile on her face.

The Madri Scholar looked at her for a moment, then floated forward over the pond, going to its center before he finally came down into the water. It had that chlorine feeling to it, as if this was actually pool water. What's more is, it was colder than any pool or pond or ocean that one could ever find on Earth. However, the Madri Scholar was quite used to this, having experienced more diverse climates and seen more situations than that guy in the realm of the Teen Titans that saw every war in the history books.

Focused upon his search and acquire mission objective, the Scholar didn't need to swim or breathe or anything. He was more or less an omnipotent being, destined to never grow old or die unless he was destroyed somehow. This also meant he could breathe underwater and in space. The first few minutes of floating underwater and looking around in every direction only resulted in the sight of many different types of fish, a pearl similar to the Mermaid's Tier that Krillin had tried to win over that other Maron girl with back after Garlic Jr.'s first comeback was finished, and walls of rock which turned out to have nothing of value whatsoever. He was starting to get tired of this seemingly useless search, so after muttering something about how he'd never find the wand he was looking for at this rate, the wizard priest Scholar started to fly upwards to get out of this pool of a pond. However, before he could escape, something came up, literally roaring, at a super high speed rate and almost completely gobbled him in whole. Fortunately, he had noticed in time to sidestep it. It was a giant eel that apparently came up from the center of the floor of this place.

"You've got to be kidding. I never thought there were more than one of these things! And the one I remember seeing was in the depths of Noki Bay, at the Island Delfino in the Mushroom World! This is remarkable!" the Madri Scholar exclaimed, marveling in the complete and utter massiveness of the sight before him. Meanwhile, as he was in this expression, he started sinking, going downward, towards the very ocean floor that this eel came storming upward from. The eel, with its gaping mouth open and aqua blue teeth showing, was actually going downward as well. Barely noticing this, the Madri Scholar thought it was kind of strange, even after the eel closed his mouth close to the ocean bottom. The chlorine smell and feel started to dissipate a little, the lower and lower the Scholar and the eel went. Soon, the Scholar found himself touching the ocean floor, which actually felt a little damp and murky. He also noticed that down here, there was virtually no chlorine scent whatsoever. At the same time as he now realized that this alien eel was the source of the pool-type chlorine that filled up this water, the eel turned to him with its mouth closed. Its bright green eyes could have spooked just about anyone, and even slightly unnerved the Scholar himself.

The blue alien eel then jerked its head several times towards its left, with a relatively small grunting sound. And yet, even as _relatively_ small as the eel's grunt was compared to how he could be sounding, the Madri Scholar actually wondered if the woman over the pond heard that. Another thought that went through the mind of the all-seeing wizard was one that he actually spoke it out:

"What in the realms is he doing? Is he trying to dance?" he asked himself, sweat dropping from his face as he continued to understand absolutely nothing that this eel was doing. "If so, then he could surely benefit from turning in more than one direction." But then, the eel started straining a little longer than one split second each time he turned in that direction, and the Madri Scholar began to understand. _Wait a minute… that's it! He's obviously telling me something's that way!_

Finally getting the picture, the all-seeing eye of the universe, who has apparently proven several times that not even he can be perfect, turned in that direction, and saw something. He came over to it, and picked it up by its long handle, only to be disappointed by finding that it was not what he was looking for. He furrowed his head in annoyance before floating up to the surface of the chlorine-filled pond, officially finished with this part of the world.

Meanwhile, standing over the surface of the pond, the woman was turned around and was looking to the sky, apparently thinking about something. A peaceful type of worry was visible from her gaze at the stars, which actually showed more than another.

"Sasami," was the name that escaped her mouth, before the Madri Scholar suddenly surfaced behind her. She turned back around as she heard the sound of something splash up from underneath the waters, and saw a soaked Scholar, without the happiest of looks on his face. He actually looked quite irritated at this point, to be perfectly honest. What's more, he was holding a wand, but it was not the one that they were looking for. He was holding a mostly thin and white wand with a pink star on it.

"As you can see, Tsunami," the Madri Scholar finally reported, "I did find a wand. But it wasn't the one we were looking for. It's more of a whore wand than anything else."

"Well, just because we couldn't find it yet doesn't mean we never will," Tsunami said with a semi-forced cheerfulness about her, trying to encourage the Scholar somewhat. "You did make a step forward, leading to this search in the first place."

"On that note, I did manage to sense its presence, and I still can, which means it does exist somewhere in this world," the Madri Scholar added, catching on to the positive attitude that Tsunami acted upon just now. Just as soon as he finished talking, he zoomed from floating over the center of the pond to standing right beside Tsunami. "Meanwhile, Tsunami, we have to think. How do we break the news to Sasami without getting her hopes up too much?"

"Oh, come on. You have to give her more credit than that," Tsunami replied condescendingly, taking the comment as if the Scholar was suggesting that Sasami was very quick to jump to hopes.

"I know she isn't exactly an irrational young girl, but still, we can't pretend that there's no chance she will jump at the mere idea of this," the Madri Scholar advised her in disagreement. "I mean, this is a fantasy, a dream, of hers that we're talking about here, that could get rid of all the nightmares this part of the universe is dealing with."

"I'm still very confident in Sasami. I don't think she'll be so rash, even if this is something she's always wanted to do," Tsunami expressed once again, then turned around, only to find that the all-seeing eye of the universe was gone.

And while the night passed on Earth, the Madri Scholar returned to our blue planet while Tsunami stayed in space to ponder on the issue of the wand that she and the Scholar had been searching for. The Vegeta-like phantasm

Once daylight was in full bloom over the planet earth once again, the Son family home was visited by a familiar being, which would happen to be the real Prince Vegeta, as he is today. Just coming down on the ground right next to the home, Vegeta walked the few steps around it to the door, then knocked on the door, without the usual pleasant quietness one would expect from a knock on the door. The door was opened shortly thereafter, but rather than Goku, Vegeta found his son, Gohan, dressed somewhat too casually for his own good.

"Oh, Vegeta. What's up?" Gohan greeted his father's friend and rival, smiling and extending his hand for a high five. Vegeta accepted the high five with a smirk on his face and just walked by the adult teenager, getting into the house.

"Good to see you're awake, now what about your father? Is he awake?"

"Well, yeah, but he's actually gone out in the woods again. This time, he took Goten with him, though. I think they're supposed to come back soon, like in the next ten minutes," Gohan explained to Vegeta, walking in and closing the door behind him.

"With any luck, the Satans are going to arrive in the next ten minutes as well, and I probably won't be able to take Kakarot with me for a little deed we need to pay the Masaki house," Vegeta replied with a small touch of frustration in his voice, prior to which he had stopped walking.

"The Masaki house? Why do you need to go there?" Gohan asked plainly, which obviously told Vegeta that he really didn't have a clue what he was talking about.

"I thought you would've found out by now, but I bothered Raditz yesterday about something that was kind of bothering me. It had to do with him and Ryoko, but also those troublesome terrorists that are giving us problems," Vegeta replied, turning around to Gohan with the same smirk on his face, except it grew a little darker, indicating mischief.

He's got that cruel smirk on tight. Uh-oh. It's either he knows something good, or I've gotta get out of here, Gohan thought, knowing exactly what that smirk could mean. However, before he could start to back away, Vegeta spoke up.

"I know something, Gohan. Something about Raditz and Ryoko, that I don't even think they realized," was the statement that came out of his mouth. Now Gohan was interested. His eyebrows were tilted upward, and he began to come a little closer. Vegeta immediately caught on that he had the boy's attention now. "Gohan, I have strong reason to believe that Raditz and Ryoko are in love."

"What!?" Gohan screamed out, with complete surprise and pandemonium written all over his face, as he was completely disbelieving of what he was hearing at the moment. _When did he suddenly become the love judge?_ "Hold on a minute! What do you mean!?"

"Nagi and Kagato made references to it. I thought of it as a mere taunt to upset my pride, seeing as how I'm not quick to make friends with many people, especially ones that are prone to making personal mistakes like Ryoko, but then I realized that their every move seems to be synchronized and planned out, and it's not based on the past. It's as if they completely know us _now_ just as well as any of them ever did before. Then, I realized that whether they were taunting at me or they were just trying to tell me something I didn't know in a way that would make it seem like they were taunting me, just to upset my pride, that I had to find out. So, yesterday, I explained it to Raditz, and I demanded to know whether he and Ryoko loved each other. His reply was one of complete uncertainty. I believe he was thinking about it. I don't know exactly how he answered my question in his mind, but I'm waiting for Kakarot so that I can take him to go bother him about it, and/or find out." Vegeta answered, detailing everything from the notion he had to the confrontation with Raditz. Then, he noticed something. The house seemed a little emptier than before, for some reason. Having an idea as to what it could be, Vegeta went to the kitchen. He found that no one was there, and there was no food simmering over any stove. Stereotypical yet correct, his assumption was also kind of obvious.

"Wait a minute! Your mother's not here, is she?" Vegeta finally asked. Now, this one was a much easier thing for Gohan to answer than Vegeta's suspicion about Raditz and Ryoko, which he proved when explaining that his mother had gone with Goku and Goten, hoping they'd be able to share more quality time together, as well as find some fish or something else that they could add to tonight's dinner.

"Amazing, isn't it? I thought she wasn't here, when I didn't hear her yelling about how she refuses to believe it, and she can't have two outlaws for in-laws," Vegeta disclosed, sending the son of the aforementioned irritant mother into a nervous laugh.

"Hold on. Outlaws?" Gohan then asked.

"History," Vegeta answered. Just as he expected, in one word, Gohan was able to grasp the point of what he was talking about.

"Oh, yeah," were the words Gohan used to express that he did get it. Suddenly, the duo could hear a discharge of air, and in their midst stood two people that Vegeta happened to be talking about. What's more is, they were holding hands, as a couple would. As Gohan looked on with a confused expression on his face, Vegeta merely smiled.

"Hey!" Ryoko greeted cheerfully, waving to Vegeta, while Raditz extended his arm towards the Saiyan prince with his thumb and index fingers stuck out.

"So I see you both finally couldn't keep away from each other," Vegeta jested, trying his hand at humor while saying he was right at the same time. Raditz scoffed, closed his eyes, and flashed a bright smile at the mere idea that Vegeta seemed to be implying somewhat.

"No, we didn't do _this and that_," Ryoko replied, sticking to words. "We've got more important things to worry about right now, like waiting for most of our friends at home to get over it, beating the crap out of those bad guys, and bothering all of you guys about it to no end, which is why we woke up early and snuck out in the first place."

And since I can't think of what happens next in that scene, I believe that now would be a good time to check out what's going on at the Masaki house… where Ayeka is sitting there on the sofa, unable to pay attention to her soaps, except this time it's because she's boiling over in frustration at not hearing dishes get cleaned and water running down the kitchen sink. Ryoko was supposed to do that today, and she was counting on the fact that Raditz would wake up early and probably even convince her to do the same and get her chore done for once. However, this was unfortunately not the case, for some inexplicable reason. Looks like she didn't change for Raditz after all. But then, she heard footsteps trailing down from over her. Someone was coming downstairs. Once that someone came downstairs, that someone turned to notice Ayeka, then approached her.

"Ayeka, I checked in Ryoko's room, and I didn't see her or Raditz there, or anywhere in the house. Have you seen them?" the person asked. She could hear, and see once she turned around, that the person was Tenchi himself, wearing a green shirt and blue jeans. Even in a casual outfit such as that, she thought he was glorious.

"Why, no, Lord Tenchi, I haven't seen either one of them," Ayeka replied honestly. "I thought for certain that they were still in their room sleeping, seeing as how I'm hearing nothing from the kitchen. But that's just like her, don't you agree? It's her turn to do the dishes, and now that she wakes up early, that demon woman has to go sneak out of here. She has absolutely no respect for her own responsibilities. And apparently, that ruffian Raditz is no better than her. Personally, I think you should just throw them out if they're going to skip their chores like that, wouldn't you?" Tenchi was barely even listening to Ayeka's disingenuous continuation, through which she tried to take some of Tenchi's favor away from Ryoko and Raditz. He was sweat dropping at this incredibly "entertaining" situation, before suddenly getting called upstairs by two kid voices. But it wasn't two kid girl voices, it was two kid guy voices.

Going back up to the second floor, then to Ryoko's room, Tenchi was absolutely shocked to find that there were three people inside the room. One, was the Madri Scholar. The second, was someone he hadn't seen in a bit of a while: Tsunami, one of the Chousin goddesses, the one that's linked to Sasami. The third, was a child, slightly taller than Trunks and Goten. He wore a strange-looking blue and yellow vest, and around his waist was a teal green sash over the top of silky white pants. He also had black shoes and black wristbands on. His hair was standing on end Super Saiyan style, but was actually mostly black, while the sides and back were in that purple/silver mix which was the color of Trunks' hair. His eyebrows and pupils were also black. He was smiling in a bit of a playful and brash way, with his hands on his hips.

"Scholar? Tsunami? And… wait a minute, who's this?" Tenchi barely managed to utter in his surprised state.

"Any more surprised at seeing the three of us here, and you probably would've fainted," the cocky kid stated, catching Tenchi's attention a little bit. "Didn't Ryoko ever tell you guys about me? I'm Goten and Trunks, fused together for thirty minutes at a time, thanks to a ridiculous dance we learned about from dad and Piccolo. Anyway, I came here to bother Sasami, and apparently, so did they, but for some kind of important reason. That reminds me. (calling downstairs) **Sasami, come up here! We've gotta talk to you!**"

"Hold on just a second! Calm down! She's outside, in the fields with Yugi and Ryo-Ohki," Tenchi informed the trio in front of him, mostly the impatient child of the trio. Said impatient child merely replied with a simple, "Oh."

Meanwhile, over on the planet of the Grand Kai (not to be confused with the land of the Supreme Kais, that place has lavender skies, not pink skies) the Northern and Western quadrant King Kais were arguing in front of the Grand Kai's mansion again, and the Greek legend person Olibu, the sweat dropping tag team of Krillin and Yamcha, and the West Quadrant's pride and joy, the majestic green warrior Pikkon, were right behind their respective teachers.

"Even if all three of your boys behind you all faced Pikkon at once, there's no way they could beat him!" the West Kai egotistically claimed, shouting in the North Kai's face.

"Oh, yeah!? You're dead wrong! I know that in a serious fight, Olibu could clean up Pikkon faster than your boy took care of Frieza in Hell the first time!" the Northern (and our favorite) King Kai shouted right back at the West Kai!

"Sorry, North Kai! But Pikkon is the strongest fighter in the history of HFIL! There's no way I'm letting you say any of your puke level punks are better than him!"

"Whoa! Calm down! We ain't ready to have another tournament yet!" a certain voice was heard booming from on top of the mansion. It was actually the Grand Kai, who was dressed in his blue vest and jeans outfit once again. The Grand Kai did a somersault jump all the way down from the roof to the outside floor before them, then turned on his boom box - which he had purposely set up there - to Warren G's "Regulate" from 1995, after which he started to do several break dancing moves. After he stopped and turned off the boom box, he noticed that the two Kais and the students behind them actually were kn their knees with their heads bowed in respect towards him.

"Alright, you can stop bowin' now," the Grand Kai said, excusing them to stand up and look at him once again, which they immediately acted in accord with. "Now, I sent y'all here to tell you about a serious situation that's goin' down on Earth right now."

"Pardon me for asking, Grand Kai sir, but… what's Earth?" the West Kai asked, annoying the North Kai and his three top pupils behind him to an extent.

"The blue planet in the North Quadrant, West Kai. Now you know this from Olibu and Goku already, and I know you've been following this, so stop trying to set up shop for another fightin' tournament, man," the Grand Kai answered, adding his disappointed two cents into it as he did so. "I actually came here to tell y'all some very important news about the situation there. But first, I'm gonna need a few friends to finally get over here."

And as if right on cue, Sasami was standing before the two Kaiosamas, and standing in front of her, alongside the Grand Kai, were the Madri Scholar, Tsunami, and Gotenks. All of them appeared in a flash, Kibitoshin was also there, and none of the members were actually touching each other. Somehow, he had managed to bring them all there via Instant Transmission without them having to establish any physical contact. One would think it must have been some kind of Kai magic or something, but it actually had to do with the Madri Scholar. How, we will not tell you, but we will leave you to wonder. Kibitoshin stood back and watched the entire discussion go down, hoping to have some news to report to the others.

"Now, if you guys were following the situation on Earth, you know that Kagato, Cell, Garlic Jr., and Nagi, the four scourges of the universe responsible for Krillin and Yamcha being here instead of alive, are currently within a very powerful spaceship and in the plotting stages of some plan to take down the Earth's special warrior forces, the combination of the many Z-senshi and the Masaki clan. From there, they will have nothing standing in their way of taking over this part of the universe. However, we have discovered something that has the capability to grant us the power necessary to stand up to those unholy bastards in power," the Madri Scholar explained to the people before him.

"Last night, the Madri Scholar actually sensed something intriguing that I think you guys should know about, specifically one of you," Tsunami continued, looking specifically towards the one who can officially be called her other half, Sasami.

"So now you're finally getting to the important stuff about Sasami?" Gotenks asked, turning to Tsunami with boredom written all over him.

"Yes, we're getting to the important stuff. Now, in case none of you realized why this realm seems to be more full than usual, it's because this is the Dragon Ball realm and the Muyo realm assimilated by a series of events which was sparked by yours truly… and unfortunately resulted in Cell's escape from HFIL, and this whole bad situation coming to be in the first place," the Madri Scholar admitted, before finally getting to business.

"Alternate realm theorems will be explained later. As for now, we have an important announcement. From what I know, there is a realm somewhat parallel to the Muyo realm, which is one of the few magical realms in the entire universe. In that alternate realm, Tsunami is a candidate to be the queen of a magical world called Juraihelm, the parallel version of the majestic planet Jurai. Sasami is an ordinary girl with an annoying karaoke singer for a mother and Tenchi for a brother, until Tsunami picks her to become Pretty Sammy, a magical girl similar to the fabled Sailor Scout girls of the Mahou Sailors realm, and a champion of justice. Ironically, Sasami over here (points to the little princess) once had a fantasy about becoming Pretty Sammy in this realm. Last night, I sensed an energy, that was almost identical to that of Pretty Sammy. We don't know exactly what it is for a fact, and we haven't exactly gotten close enough to pinpoint its location, but I have strong reason to believe that it's the wand of Pretty Sammy, for some reason existing in this realm as well." A gasp of happiness came from Sasami as soon as those words were spoken.

"Wait a minute. You mean the fantasy's actually real!?" Sasami asked loudly, her eyes beaming with hope at the mere idea. "You mean I can actually become Pretty Sammy and become strong enough to save the world!?"

"Yes, Sasami. It truly can happen. But," Tsunami revealed, "only if we can find the wand."

"Well, find it already! Can you imagine what's going to happen if we do!? Better yet, if we don't!?" Gotenks intervened, much more interested now than he had been before he found out about Pretty Sammy. "Look! If we don't get this done, we may never find a way to be stronger than Kagato _or_ Cell! That means we've got no chance of destroying any of them! Meanwhile, if we do, it's Pretty Sammy and Gotenks, the greatest tag team of all time! All four of those enemies wouldn't even stand a chance! We'd be able to beat them easy!"

"Last I recall, Gotenks, your fusion only has a sweet six minutes left, so you can be quiet now. Also, if you're okay with being nothing more than a sidekick, since Pretty Sammy would be astoundingly stronger than you, then the tag team would be perfect. You're not even good enough to defeat Tenchi or Gohan, let alone Kagato. Meanwhile, Pretty Sammy would have the potential to be strong enough to destroy each of those villains, as well as the Souja," the Madri Scholar explained, causing Gotenks and Sasami to look at him, though Gotenks' look was cross and angry, while Sasami's was one of happiness at hearing the potential amount of power that she could have, and what she could do with it. "However, I do have reason to believe that this will not be an exact copy of Pretty Sammy."

"I think I know what your reasoning is," the West Kai spoke up, after which he cleared his throat, attempting to act smart. "Before I begin, I'd like to tell you that I only have an idea of what this alternate realm stuff is, and I have no idea if I'm right, so I'm going to pretend I am. Anyway, first of all, neither the Dragon Ball realm nor the actual Muyo realm it's been merged with, I think, is actually a magic realm. Pretty Sammy, obviously, is the magical girl alter-ego of Sasami. My hunch is that this isn't the magical girl Pretty Sammy, but some kind of awesome fighter girl that would fit as our version of her. Secondly, my guess is, there has to be some universal rule where two people from different realms can't possibly be exactly the same. Also, you did say the energy you sensed was almost identical to Pretty Sammy, remember?"

"Oh, and Sasami. I have to tell you," Kibitoshin cut in. "You won't help yourself if you get your hopes up too much about this Pretty Sammy business. Remember, they haven't found the wand, and no one is close to knowing where it is."

"Don't worry, I understand," Sasami reassured the fused Supreme Kai, smiling and turning to him with a wink and a thumbs up. She then turned to Tsunami and asked her something. "Tsunami, you will keep looking for the wand for me, though, right? Because I really want this to happen, and I think we might need it to happen."

"I know, and I will, Sasami," Tsunami said, taking her own turn at reassuring the little Princess, before noticing the Kais' students behind her in the background. "Oh, you're all wondering what this has to do with you, right?"

"Now you notice them!? It's my turn to talk," Gotenks hastily decided, taking a few steps forward. "Krillin, Yamcha, I gotta tell you guys, you're both terribly missed. I - or at least Trunks - was actually making jokes about you, Yamcha, before the Madri Genius here told us you got killed. Krillin, from what I know, Eighteen was crying over you when you got killed. You guys are a big part of our motivation to kick those evil idiots' butts."

"I saw the whole thing in a vision, and it scared me a lot," Sasami added, aiding the fused kid as she turned towards the ones behind the North Kai. "By the way, I'm sorry about what happened."

"Thanks. So you're Sasami, huh? I can't wait to meet the rest of your friends," Krillin stated ecstatically.

"Your wife, Eighteen. She's kind of friends with Ryoko already," Sasami

"Speaking of wh…" the Madri Scholar began to say something, before immediately stopping himself. "…never mind."

"O… kay…" Gotenks sounded off, sweat dropping in the somewhat perceivable weirdness of the next statement.

The discussion soon mostly dissolved into pleasantries, though it did somewhat delve into a warning from the Grand Kai to the four warriors behind the Kaiosamas that they might get deployed to the living part of this realm for awhile so as to aid on the battlefield. Within minutes, the Gotenks fusion was over, and the whole thing just got boring, so the Grand Kai's guests all decided to leave.

Meanwhile, now Gohan, Vegeta, Ryoko, and Raditz were standing outside the Son home.

"Well, we've gotta go to Master Roshi's now. I can't wait to hear from Eighteen about this," Ryoko said as she and Raditz walked forward, holding hands.

"Right. See you around," Gohan said, waving goodbye to his uncle and possible future aunt-in-law, while Vegeta merely looked completely embarrassed and annoyed.

"See ya," Raditz said, effectively ending the conversation when he and the space pirate flew away. Minutes later, Goku and Chichi arrived back home, smiling, with a big yellowtail fish in Goku's arm. Noticing Vegeta ranting about something to Gohan, Goku called to him and asked him what was getting him so worked up.

"I'll tell you what's getting me so worked up, Kakarot!" Vegeta shouted angrily as he turned toward Goku and Chichi, and began walking over to them. "You left me with your son while Ryoko and Raditz came here and flaunted their relationship! They completely humiliated the living hell out of me, and he (points sharply towards Gohan) didn't help me at all! Now they're gone and going over to Master Roshi's, and you weren't there!"

"Relax, Vegeta," Goku replied, much more calmly than his smaller buddy's tirade. As he said this, he put on a closed-eye smile and slightly raised it so that Vegeta could see it, for emphasis of what he was advising the Prince to do. "Listen. Trunks was actually hiding his energy and following you when you were coming here until he noticed us, so he sneaked over to us and got Goten to fuse into Gotenks. Then, they just sped along and went over somewhere, I think to the Masaki house. I don't know exactly why they went there, but I think they actually said something about bothering Sasami and Yugi."

"You've got to be kidding!" Vegeta shouted, after which he put both of his hands on his friend's shoulders, hard. "Trunks went fused with your son to go bother those two little girls!? What is this world coming to!?"

"Well, he is a mischievous little boy," Chichi pointed out matter-of-factly, which seriously offended Vegeta.

"Shut up!" Vegeta commanded her, to which Goku immediately realized, "here we go again." However, this time, he turned out to be wrong, as Chichi just gave a haughty laugh and walked inside. Goku, after breathing a sigh of relief, followed suit.

"I'm leaving!" Vegeta yelled in frustration, before immediately flying away. He didn't even give Gohan the chance to say goodbye this time. Gohan took the opportunity to finally have a small laugh, before following his parents inside.

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Kagato: "It sounds to me like they've gotten their hands on a wand. We have to take Sasami, now."

-Cell: "What's the big deal about that wand? It looks like an accessory for a pretty girl outfit on Halloween. Absolutely nothing for any of us to worry about."

-Garlic Jr.: "Hold on one second. Pretty girl… shoot! Is that the wand of this Pretty Sammy magical girl that Sasami can turn into?"

-Kagato: "Actually, no, but it seems to me like they're searching for it. I can't imagine what would happen if they found the right wand, though…"

-Garlic Jr.: "Well, what are we waiting for!? On the next **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, we have to kidnap Sasami and keep her from the magic power in **Chapter 22: Little Princess in Distress**. Otherwise, it will doom our very plans!"


	22. Little Princess in Distress

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Grand Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: Well, the next fight is coming up right after this chapter's done. I'm probably going to keep the next one really short, because I don't feel I do as well with keeping interest and comfort through chapter-long fights as I'd like to be able to, to be quite honest.

**Chapter 22: Little Princess in Distress.**

So as to begin this chapter on a bit of a familiar note, we've got Raditz and Ryoko flying over the ocean, with proud smiles on their faces.

"Well, I'd have to say that was fun, wouldn't you? Though I was hoping to find Kakarot instead of Vegeta," Raditz stated in reference to their recent humiliation of Vegeta.

"Actually, I think it would've been a lot harder to get to Goku like that," Ryoko replied, expressing disagreement. "We would've had to pretend to have turned evil."

"That's not actually as difficult as you make it sound, seeing as how we once were evil," Raditz pointed out.

"Yeah, but for me it was completely forced. For you, it was understood," Ryoko reminded him, to which he furrowed his brows in slight frustration. Meanwhile, he just looked down and saw a familiar small island with a red roof over a pink house in the center.

"There it is. Roshi's island," Raditz said, pointing down to it as Ryoko also looked in its direction. Almost immediately, they changed direction and flew down towards the place. Again, Master Roshi was sitting down and chilling at his hammock, reading some book on how to attract chicks or something, when he lowered it to take a look and saw them coming down. In response, Roshi came off his hammock and tipped his shades to them, following which they finally came down to the ground and walked over to him.

"Hey, Master Roshi! What's up?" Ryoko greeted with a cheerful smile and wave of the forearm, continuing to walk in Roshi's direction. Meanwhile, just inside the house, by the open front window, Eighteen was watching, and she saw the two friends that just got here. But before she could go outside, her daughter Marron came to her.

"Mommy, I'm hungry! Can I eat something?" Marron complained to her mother, prompting the semi-android to turn around with a smile.

"We won't have food ready for a couple of hours, but there's a sugar lollipop at the table near the fridge. You can get that if you want, but that'll be it before lunch," Eighteen told Marron, after which the child went away to said fridge. Eighteen then jumped out of the window and walked over to meet her friends.

"Hi, guys," she greeted, raising her hand to them.

"Hey!" Ryoko greeted back, posing proudly with her hands on her hips. "So, how's it been?"

"Considering the circumstances, I guess I can say okay," Eighteen replied. "I mean, seriously. I'm trying not to let Krillin's murder bother me, because I know we can wish him back with the Dragon Balls, (now Ryoko puts on a confused, quizzical look on her face) but _they're_ out there, and the minute we slip up, they can kill even more of us. Meanwhile, I've got something else bothering me, in the form of this guy (points to Roshi, who is trying to sneak over to touch Ryoko's rear until Raditz stares hostilely in his direction and scares him back) still paying too much attention to women's fitness programs and trying to touch my behind."

"And obviously, he hasn't forgotten about me either," Ryoko said in embarrassed low pitch, bowing her head in comical shame at the idea. If he even mattered, then her love triangle situation would have been worse before it got resolved last night.

"What would that make him, obsessed with you?" Raditz quipped immediately, to which he and Eighteen laughed. As he could've expected, Ryoko looked crossly in his direction, before realizing how this was a humorous shot at Roshi and bursting in laughter herself. Meanwhile, Roshi merely looked as a tiny sweat drop appeared on the back of his shiny bald little head.

"You guys want to come in?" Eighteen offered, stepping aside and gesturing towards the door.

"Nah. We'd rather stay out here, at least for the next few minutes," Raditz politely declined for the moment, following which he turned towards Roshi. "So, old man, what are you going to do next?"

"You said something about some Dragon Balls that can wish Krillin back to life. I remember hearing about those things from Kagato. What exactly are they?" Ryoko asked, finally addressing the issue of her initial confusion.

"There aren't many sets of them, but yes. There are Dragon Balls," Master Roshi spoke up, beginning to delve into an explanation. "Once a set of seven specific Dragon Balls, all with different numbers of stars on them from one through seven, are all gathered in one spot, then the set's Eternal Dragon appears to grant wishes. The amount of wishes, and the ability for certain types of wishes, depends highly upon properties set by the creator of a set of Dragon Balls. In our case, we on Earth have a dragon named Shenron, that can fulfill two wishes. But on a planet belonging to a few green friends of ours, Namek, their dragon Porunga has by far the least limited power of them all, and can actually fulfill three wishes. The only catch is that although he can understand our language, the wishes have to be spoken in the Nameks' native tongue for him to be able to comply."

"Do we know anyone who can speak Namek?" Ryoko asked right off the bat.

"Where do you think Piccolo and Dende come from?" Raditz reminded her.

"Oh, yeah," Ryoko sounded off, after which she teleported to behind Roshi, the typical discharge of air being an indication of the fact. Roshi heard it immediately behind him and started to quiver a bit. "By the way, you old hack, you mind telling me where those other guys are that Eighteen told me about? From what I hear, they're kind of fun."

"Fun to what? To comically torture?" Eighteen asked with a jesting smile.

"Whatever you want to call it, I guess it's fair game," Ryoko answered bluntly. "Anyway, now I know exactly how Cell wished Kagato back to life." But it was at that point that an idea immediately popped up into her mind. "Hey, I just figured it out! Can't we get Dragon Balls to wish them dead? That's an approach that hasn't been taken yet, right?"

"While that is pretty original, and I think it could probably be worth a try," Raditz replied factually while keeping a little warmth toward his girl in his voice, "we don't even know if dragons have the power to end lives. I do recall hearing from Hell that Porunga himself was rendered unable to complete a wish to move Kakarot to Earth because Kakarot himself declined the wish. If he can't even move someone without their consent, then I wouldn't call it a safe bet to expect him to destroy someone without their consent."

"Yeah, that's not my favorite piece of news," Ryoko said in response to that possibility being completely squandered. She never thought of it before, and now she knows another idea that wouldn't work. _Damn. Story of my life. I almost never get my way about this stuff._

"Oh, and wishing for power isn't exactly our style. I consider it one of the most unlike-a-good-guy ideas ever," Eighteen stated, just in case Ryoko was actually thinking of that.

"No way we're turning into power hungry bastards," Ryoko replied nonchalantly, excusing that herself, much to Eighteen's relieved glee. "That would make life a whole lot easier. But then how much life would we have if all we cared about was power? Sometimes, even for a fighter, the greater things in life

Meanwhile, back on that other completely blue planet way out in space, that Vegeta-looking phantom figure was now in the middle of a forest, thinking about what he saw last night at that pond. He saw what looked to be a kind of goddess and what appeared to be a wizard priest actually talking to one another about someone named Sasami, and looking around for a wand. They had found one down there next to the giant eel, but were completely disappointed, because there was a specific wand they were looking for, and that wasn't it.

"Hmm… hold on a minute. I know there's some guys who'll take the info I got about the wand thing, and these guys, for money," he thought aloud, glad to see that no one was there to bother him. However, a green phantasm person similar to him except it was in the shape of a child Vegeta, in an equally smaller version of Vegeta's Saiyan uniform, appeared to disturb his peace.

"Hey, Ategev! What's up?" the little green phantasm asked the bigger blue one as he popped up out of nowhere and caused the blue guy to shriek in surprise.

"Nas-Ecnirp! How many times have I told ya not to bother me after I'm done snoopin' around on somebody!" the irritable blue version of Vegeta said to the smaller green one.

"You know I'm never gonna listen, right?" the green one asked in annoyed reply.

"Don't remind me," the blue one retorted almost immediately, obviously wishing that he would listen. "Now, since you're here, you little bastard, I'll be right back. I'll only be gone one second. Wait up." And he just vanished into thin air, reappearing near the pond. He saw the starlet's wand that the wizard guy had dropped, laying there, right next to his feet, and decided to pick it up. He then disappeared in shadow and reappeared right at the spot where he had left the little guy.

"Wait a minute. What's supposed to be so important about this thing?" the little green one asked, curious yet a little miffed about the subject.

"Easy. Because it's the wrong one," the blue phantom person answered, which kind of surprised the little one as well as aroused his curiosity, as evident from the "Huh?" sound and the according look on his face. "Apparently, this wizard guy and this holy-looking goddess girl were lookin' for a magic wand, but ended up finding' this piece of crap. I know somebody could use this information."

"Did they say anything? Did they mention any names?" the little one asked almost immediately.

"Actually, yeah. I think they said something about a Sas… Salami, or Swami, or something like that," the blue one answered almost a little too promptly, seeing as how he had trouble remembering the name that was mentioned in the conversation he snooped on.

"Let me guess: Sasami? There's actually someone named Sasami?" the green kid asked, his voice getting noticeably louder with the second question, as if that was supposed to be some big incredible deal.

"Oh, yeah! Sasami! That's name I was lookin' for!" the blue one exclaimed. and apparently, it's a girl. Anyway, since you're Mr. Ultra Perceptive Guy, you mind trying to figure this one out?"

"There's probably some real scary guys on a big nasty ship that's gonna be real worried when they know about this," the little green one replied.

"That's just what I've been waitin' for," the blue phantom remarked, beginning to smile and pump his fist in confidence at some kind of opportunity. "Let's go look for it already!"

At this exact same time, on the majestic Souja, the Emporium members were finally beginning to get back to work as far as planning their next move. Once again at the chapel, now they were wide awake, all engaging in different activities. Cell was stretching himself by throwing punches and kicks into the air, Kagato was on his great pipe organ playing "Ultimate Koopa", the song from the very last stage of Super Mario 64, Garlic Jr. was looking at something through his water monitor projector thing, and Nagi was looking down towards Ken-Ohki in her arms, before she just turned towards Kagato.

"Hey, Kagato! Should I start up the transformation to Ken-Souja now!?" Nagi shouted over to him, hoping he could hear her over the song he was playing on that pipe-organ.

"Surely, Nagi! Go right ahead!" Kagato shouted back in answer, turning to look at her yet still playing the song perfectly at the same time. Upon hearing this, Nagi walked over to the stone pillar, and placed Ken-Ohki on it. She was about to walk away and allow the glass hemispheric dome to appear over the pillar with Ken-Ohki inside it, before she suddenly remembered something.

"Hey, Garlic Jr.! Can you toss me that glass of carrots you told me you were sparing?" Nagi requested, still shouting. Upon hearing that request, the serpent prince growled in utter irritation. Here he was, one of the most dastardly minds in the universe, and he was about to just give away carrots. Well, at least it was for evil. That was his only consolation as he threw a small glass bottle with miniature sized carrots in Nagi's direction. She caught the bottle, then immediately opened it, after which air quickly wheezed out of it, along with several carrots, which all instantly came back to full size and were floating in the air. As if to accommodate to Ken-Ohki, the carrots fell one at a time, allowing him to savor each one. Nagi smiled at this, and then the smile turned into a smirk, for soon, this meant her cabbit would be ready to once again strengthen the Souja in case it would be necessary for the weapons to be used.

Once the white cabbit was finally done eating each and every single one of the carrots, he jumped high in the air with an energetic "Chou!" and even managed to jump up onto the stone pillar. The glass dome appeared and enclosed him in, and then he let out a loud scream of power, leading up to the glorious flash presentation and explosion of power which, once again, transformed the silver Souja into the beige-golden, larger, and even more powerful Ken-Souja. Then and only then did Cell stop semi-training himself and did Kagato stop playing his song. Though they did smile proudly and confidently once more at the power that this transformation presented, the Overlords were soon met by circumstances which would not produce smiles from them. Those circumstances would happen to be the same two phantom Vegeta past look-a-likes that were annoying this story with their gangster style presence.

"Wait a minute… who the heck are you?" Nagi asked the two phantom creatures.

"The name's Rios Ategev. I know it's ridiculous, and I got no idea why that's my name, but I think I might've just found something you guys have gotta be interested in," the blue guy, unhesitant, introduced himself.

"And I'm Aliuga Nas-Ecnirp!" the little green one chirped annoyingly. Nagi and Garlic Jr. looked at him with semi-closed eyelids due to the boring irritation that was standing before them.

"Ategev… I know I've never heard it before, but that sounds kind of familiar," Cell mused, actually pondering it a small tad.

"That's because it's 'Vegeta' spelled backwards. And 'Nas-Ecnirp' is 'Prince-San' spelled backwards," Kagato explained and clarified, turning all's attention to him. "Seeing as how half of your names are backward copies of who you look like, obviously you must come from a race of copycat phantoms. Now, how did you get onto our ship undetected, and how you did you find us here?"

"We got the ability to teleport any distance we want, so we just took ourselves from planet to planet until we saw your ship and decided to get in," Ategev informed the villains.

"Wow, I was right. You guys are pretty scary," Nas-Ecnirp said, marveling aloud at the sight of the evilness before him, now that he finally realized it. "And this ship looks good!"

"Well, thank you. As the masters of the Emporium, we make the best effort to make ourselves comfortable and to make anyone in our way uncomfortable," Kagato detailed proudly, somewhat happy to hear the respect that the team - and the ship - were receiving. "Now, will you two annoying buffoons please tell me what incredibly important information you happen to have?"

Ategev then held up the wand that he had found over at the pond on his planet. Kagato furrowed his brows and narrowed his eyes in slight befuddlement and irritation. _These guys came all the way over here to show us a worthless wand._

"And how exactly is that supposed to be of significance?" he asked the phantom people instead of explaining his true thoughts.

"The people who first found this thing, they were looking for some kinda magic wand. They were talking about some girl named Salami," Ategev revealed.

"Sasami!" Nas-Ecnirp shot, frustrated that his larger partner wasn't getting this.

"Right, Sasami. Anyway, they said some stuff about a fantasy of hers that had to do with this thing, right? And then, the wizard guy was telling the girl that he was able to sense that it existed somewhere. Kinda like how we found you, except it was more perception than sense, and we were able to spot ya," Ategev continued, the story beginning to intrigue the dark four that he was actually telling this somewhat sensitive information to.

"A wizard guy? And who was the girl with him? Sasami?" Cell demanded, force exerting through his voice as he grabbed Ategev by the neck and lifted him up. However, with a few hammers to the hands of Cell, Ategev was able to irritate him into letting go before he answered.

"I don't think so. She had blue hair, pink eyes, and some kinda holy light-colored robe. I think he called her Tsunami. But like I said, they were talking about Sasami. But I never caught the wizard guy's name," Ategev explained.

"Thank you for the information, now get out of my sight."

"What!?!?" Ategev and Nas-Ecnirp both exclaimed. "But we thought we were gonna get paid!"

"Paid? Please. We didn't summon you or hire you, and we certainly don't feel indebted to you," Garlic Jr. replied smugly, taking exception to the mere thought that this guy was actually asking for money from them. "In fact, normally we would kill you, but the information you're giving us is so much more valuable than you yourselves that we've decided to let you escape with your lives, provided you leave **now**."

"Uh… okay! We want to live! See ya!" Ategev shouted pleadingly, himself and Nas-Ecnirp waving their hands with their arms stretched forward as an indication of fear. Immediately after this, the two started to run away from their message's recipients, and once they established distance, teleported the living heck out of there. No longer paying any attention to them, the four top scourges of the Dragon Ball Muyo combined realm turned to one another and began to discuss this predicament they were current faced with.

"They've touched the topic of a wand. I think you all know what this means," Kagato told his teammates with the utmost seriousness in his voice.

"The wand that will make Princess Sasami into this realm's Pretty Sammy," Nagi replied in needless clarification, her vocal tone almost a mirror of Kagato's, as she also realized what this could mean.

"Obviously, forget the plan with Raditz and Ryoko for now. We have to take Sasami and play keep away with her, or else if they find that thing," Garlic Jr. continued on, equally serious while now leaving the floor for a visibly angered Cell to finish.

"It will be the end of us all," the bio-android said without a single touch of relaxation in his voice.

Meanwhile, back to the entertaining visit from Ryoko and Raditz to Master Roshi's, which takes us on a much needed lighter note, now Ryoko and Raditz are inside the house, along with Puar and Oolong. They unfortunately have to deal with the fact tha Roshi's favorite women's fitness program just came on, and now he's torturing them with his constant cheering for the girls to work and show off their fabulous bodies. Ryoko was annoyed as hell, Raditz had a hand on his forehead, and Oolong was starting to growl in sickness at this crap.

"For an old master, Roshi, you sure as heck are pathetic," Oolong finally said after some three minutes of it. Meanwhile, Roshi paid no attention at all to what he was saying. The old master was still screaming out, "Oh, yeah! Work it baby! Show me what you've got!", to the girls on the television screen. Marron had seen Roshi's perverse behavior in the past, but being the child that she was, Eighteen just played with her outside now with full intent to protect her from too much of one of the most unappealing habits… no, one of the most unappealing people in this realm's history.

"When is he going to find a new program?" Puar asked, in that tone of voice you use when you're completely scared of anything happening.

"When they let live sex on TV," Raditz replied in bored low pitch. Had it not been for the lack of expression in his voice, that comment might have been hilarious.

"Now except for the fact that he's gonna be drooling worse, that would be a lot more fun to see than this crap," Ryoko commented, putting a smile on her face at the thought.

"Yeah, that's for sure," Oolong seconded the notion, folding his arms and grinning. However, ignoring him, the space pirate continued.

"I mean, seriously. This is just some standard human workout. I wouldn't even break a sweat doing this stuff, and it's more than completely boring!" she ranted on, using body language to help accentuate her point. "Meanwhile, if they showed live-"

"Hold it! We can't exclaim that around here!" Raditz interrupted immediately, extending his arm, palm stuck out, towards her to make sure she noticed. "Especially seeing as how we're being housed by a couple of perverts."

"A _couple_ of perverts?" a confused Ryoko asked, almost silently.

"Yes. First, we've got Roshi. That's self explanatory. The other one, milady, is literally a talking pig," Raditz answered her question. Realizing that Oolong was the only talking pig they knew, Ryoko took a glance at him and hesitantly pointed to him, as if asking how exactly was he a pervert. Seeing how he was being fingered as a perv, Oolong got off the sofa and walked towards Raditz with a pretty mad look on his face.

"Okay, Raditz! You owe me a scoop! How the heck am I a pervert, huh!?" Oolong immediately demanded, jumping in the much taller man's face as he did so.

"I remember Kakarot telling me all about how he and Bulma met you when he was a child," Raditz started, keeping on a cocky smirk as Oolong continued to look frustrated. "You were known as Oolong the Terrible, because you would always shape shift from a charming gentlemen to a horrible monster, all for the sole purpose of kidnapping a bunch of pretty girls from a village and trying to get one of them to be with you. You can't tell me you never took any feels."

"If I focused on touching them when I was bringing them in, they would've escaped!"

"Yeah, you didn't register as guilty just from saying that, but you hardly excused yourself," Ryoko commented, smirking as she walked over to Oolong, whose face was beet red in embarrassment and anger.

"Lucky for you guys I'm not some artificial freakazoid or a Saiyan, or I'd be throwing you in the trash!" Oolong shot up, again angrily jumping to their level with each word he said.

"You have a point. Besides, we're just playing around. Roshi's the only one who's lived up to a perverted history these days," Raditz finally said, which actually led to the group looking at Roshi… still being pathetic as he was still watching that fitness program. He hadn't been paying any attention to anything they were saying. As usual, he was seemingly completely absorbed in that program. They all fell to the floor in disbelief.

After the group picked themselves up, Raditz and Ryoko decided that this was their time to leave.

"Well, you guys, we had fun. But I think we've gotta go back home right now. Either that or Capsule Corp, but I think Vegeta's gonna make the special report over there anyway," Ryoko announced as she led Raditz outside.

"Special report?" Roshi asked, confused and finally starting to pay attention to the world around him. Raditz turned to Roshi and co., stopping at the door for a second.

"Wait, you couldn't tell that we're a couple now?" Raditz asked. He half expected Ryoko to call "come on, let's go", but she was actually talking to Eighteen outside. Meanwhile, as for the ones Raditz was telling the news to just now, Roshi looked shocked, while Oolong connected the dots by saying that that's why they came here together and teamed up to embarrass him and Roshi. With a smile and a thumbs up left behind as his calling card, Raditz walked outside and approached Ryoko as she talked with Eighteen at the edge of the isle.

"Is Roshi done now?" Eighteen asked in annoyance.

"Doubt it, even though I think he started getting back to normal after I got out," Ryoko replied nonchalantly, after which a slight pause of silence occurred, during which Raditz was able to put up.

"So, Raditz, huh? I always thought you'd be the rebound for Tenchi," Eighteen noted in reference to Ryoko's chosen relationship.

"Oh, I still like him, but opposites attract stopped beating out having lots in common since yesterday. Besides, he's with Sakuya," Ryoko explained matter-of-factly, before a word struck her. "And what do you mean, rebound!?"

"Relax. Let's just hope the old man doesn't get back to his old habits and try to-"

"I know what you mean. But trust me. There's no way he can imitate my super strong Saiyan's mane," Ryoko interrupted Eighteen, showing confidence that whatever was concerning the cyborg blonde was not going to happen.

"I heard that, and that's definitely a good thing," Raditz finally interjected, letting the two women know he was there, as well as giving them - and himself - a good laugh.

"Anyway, we need to go home. Unfortunately, I've got chores to do. What a drag. Usually I sleep too long to have to do anything, but this time, I woke up early, just to bother everyone with the news of our getting together," Ryoko told her friend. "But at least I've got this guy (points behind herself to Raditz) to make things a little more fun."

"You can say that again," Raditz affirmed, pointing to himself as well in a bit of pride.

"Come on, already, let's go," Ryoko immediately rushed, not allowing him to get full of himself for much longer. After turning to Eighteen with a simple "see ya", she and Raditz flew on, back in the direction of home. Meanwhile, as for those that were already there at the Masaki house…

"So, basically, you're saying that the Pretty Sammy dream she had is a reality somewhere else, and an alternate version of it could be a reality here," Washu analyzed the situation, now seated on the sofa next to Tsunami. She next turned to the Madri Scholar, who was leaning back against the wall with nothing to do at the moment. "By the way, Scholar, in case you were wondering, Ryoko and Raditz did happen. You notice they're both not here, right?"

"Thanks for clearing that up for me, Washu," the Madri Scholar replied, opening his eyes. "I officially have to leave now and tell a friend that he's going to have to start showing up." And with that, he vanished into thin air, leaving all for themselves. Ayeka, who was standing next to the sofa, now announced that she was going outside to talk to Sasami. Washu shooed her away carelessly, and after Ayeka walked off, failed to get back to her conversation with Tsunami, so she just sighed with her hands behind her head and started trailing off to sleep.

Meanwhile, Sasami and Yugi were standing outside, looking up at the sky, etc. Goten and Trunks left almost as soon as they were brought back here, leaving the girls by themselves.

"When are Mihoshi and Kiyone getting here with the things?" Yugi asked, beginning to get impatient with their friends.

"They'll be here. But right now, I'm just thinking about the whole Pretty Sammy thing," Sasami said, truly still unable to get her mind off of it. "But it's not distracting me at all. It's actually, leaving me at peace."

"I know, Sasami. And trust me, that's a good thing. Now that we know it exists, it's only a matter of time," Yugi replied confidently, reassuring her friend. The two looked at one another smiling, before they suddenly heard the sound of teleportation come from two places. Almost as soon as the two girls turned around to the one that was right close to them, Sasami was booted up into the air, until she was suddenly stopped by what she could feel was a gloved hand catching her by the neck. The two figures responsible gave a quick dark laugh, after which they immediately teleported out of the area. Shaking, trembling, Yugi and Ayeka, who just got out, saw that Cell and Kagato had Sasami. The two villains then quickly vanished. As if symbolic of the very bad thing that just happened, the sky was suddenly engulfed in dark clouds, and the sound of thunder quickly accompanied the sight of lightning. A strong rain also came over the Masaki house, adding to the dark feeling that just came through. She was officially now the little princess in distress.

Meanwhile, deep out in space, something was beginning to shake profusely.

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Ayeka: "I can't believe the audacity of those jerks! They kidnapped Sasami! My sister! A princess of Jurai!"

-Yugi: "I know you could easily call the ships, but I think we need to personally see to her safe return."

-Garlic Jr.: "Once again, I take over the so-called "sanctuary" overlooking this sorry planet. But only because we needed a good spot to keep Sasami in without her knowing squat about the Souja."

-Sasami: "Help!"

-Nagi: "Hold on a second! Who the heck was that!?"

-Ayeka: "What in Jurai just happened?"

-Sasami: "Next on **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, the fight to free me begins in **Chapter 23: Battle Unlocking a Mystery**. Wait a minute, who is that?"


	23. Battle Unlocking a Mystery

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Grand Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: Sorry for the long pause. I've just been finally focusing on my wrestling story as well. There were chapters there I really wanted to get to as soon as possible, especially since school starts up again August 14th.

**Chapter 23: Battle Unlocking a Mystery.**

Ayeka and Yugi were completely shocked and saddened, frozen stiff at what they had just seen. In what was practically an instant flash, they just witnessed Sasami get kidnapped by Kagato and Cell. Upon coming outside, Sakuya saw them just standing there, and Sasami was nowhere to be found.

"Um, Yugi? What happened?" Sakuya asked in concern, before Ayeka sharply turned in her direction and announced it personally.

"It's… it's Sasami," Ayeka said, genuine anger beginning to beginning to be identified in her voice. "Kagato and Cell, they kidnapped her! They've captured my sister!"

"What!?" Sakuya exclaimed upon hearing the news, her mouth suddenly ajar in shock.

"It's true!" Ayeka continued in panicked form. "I just came outside to see Sasami about the Pretty Sammy transformation thing, and then they appeared. Cell kicked her into the air, and Kagato grabbed her. We could barely move!"

"Yugi, weren't you with Sasami the whole time, though?" Sakuya asked, turning to Yugi while unknowing that by now, Washu and Tsunami had gotten curious and were coming behind her. Yugi just turned around, with tears beginning to flow in her eyes, and walked past Sakuya to get inside the house. Tsunami and Washu noticed, as did Sakuya, who the other two looked at for answers.

"Sasami's been kidnapped by Kagato and Cell," Sakuya sadly reported, leading Washu and Tsunami both to only one conclusion.

"They know about it!" they both exclaimed simultaneously.

"But how?" Washu asked, for once not completely getting something.

"I don't know, but I'm guessing that either someone or something had to have been spying on me and the Madri Scholar during our search," Tsunami guessed, her voice showing panic.

"You're saying they know it, too?" Ayeka demanded angrily, to which Tsunami hesitantly nodded. She wasn't sure, but it was the only reason that she could think of for Cell and Kagato to just swoop in like that and capture _Sasami_.

Meanwhile, at the lookout, Dende, Piccolo, and Mr. Popo watched helplessly as dark clouds suddenly started filling the Earth below them, but not because the planet itself was about to be destroyed.

"Oh, my. The world has suddenly been pulled into darkness," Popo barely managed to say in all of his practical speechlessness.

"Yeah, but… I don't understand. What's going on?" Dende asked, not having a much easier time getting it out. "It's almost as if the planet senses that something's wrong."

"And I suddenly can't sense Sasami where I thought I could anymore," Piccolo pointed out, equally mesmerized at what was going on, though he hid it pretty well. Then, the source of all their problems finally revealed itself, as the Emporium overlords teleported before them, Kagato holding Sasami by the back of her clothes in order to clearly indicate that she was in his, no, **their** grasp. Piccolo and Dende looked on shocked as he saw the sudden turn of events that was the capture of Sasami Jurai.

"No! Kagato! How did you-"

"How did I what? Easily snag Sasami away from her poor, unfortunate, unsuspecting family and friends?" Kagato guessed, stopping Piccolo's demanding complaint right in its tracks. "It was just a matter of timing and speed. Sasami and Yugi were enjoying the view."

"Why did you take her, and what do you plan on doing with her!?" Dende suddenly shot in demand at the villains, showing no fear of them at the moment though he was a mere Namek and not one of the strongest fighters in the universe.

"Isn't it obvious? Or were you not informed at any kind of press conference? Sasami has too much power, and we cannot let her touch it," Garlic Jr. vaguely explained, before his proud smile disappeared and his eyes narrowed. "But I've already told you too much, Piccolo. So now you must die."

"No way! I've kicked you around before, Garlic Jr., and I can sure as hell do it again!" Piccolo threatened the Serpent Prince, before charging at him and hitting him with a stiff kick booting him all the way up to the sky. Piccolo then got in the air and hit Garlic Jr. with a vicious combination of punches and kicks, before stomping on his chest in mid-air and driving him into the ground.

"And that's not even the end of it, Garlic Breath!" Piccolo warned Garlic Jr. before suddenly throwing a ton of energy waves into the sky. In all of his controlled fury, Piccolo was ready to completely demolish the tiles of the lookout closest to get Garlic Jr. for what he's done. Each of the ki waves stopped at a somewhat high altitude, and soon, Piccolo was satisfied with how many he had.

"Dende, Popo, stand back!" he warned, after which they backed away considerably. Almost as soon as Garlic Jr.'s head popped out, Piccolo directed all the ki shots at once towards the impish villain, the conglomeration of beams resulting in a major explosion, the likes of which threw enough wind around to tear the closest few of the sanctuary's trees off their foundation. However, it was practically all in naught, for once the smoke started to clear, a shadow formed from behind it. Soon, that shadow was clear, in the form of a standing Garlic Jr. He had a few scratches on him, but nevertheless was smirking, and appeared to be completely unharmed. Piccolo's eyes went wide, and his mouth was gaping wide open, as he saw that his attack had no effect.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Piccolo, but that was not nearly enough to even think you could possibly beat me. In case you forgot, I took power from the Dead Zone because of the warp in the universe that got me out in the first place. And, the first time I came to this planet in the first place, I wished upon the dragon, and now I'm immortal," Garlic Jr. proudly re-informed his enemy as Piccolo looked even more surprised upon hearing this.

_I… no! I can't believe I missed that! That's how come Garlic Jr. was never beaten by Tenchi! Although it did help us out that Tenchi became stronger as he is, the outcome of that battle had nothing to do with any weakness!_ he thought in disbelief, before turning to Dende and saying something. "Dende, we have to talk to the Madri Scholar about this!"

"The Madri Scholar? Is that your weird-looking wizard friend, the one whom I heard was with Tsunami, searching for a magic wand?" Kagato kindly inquired, again with his cool. The topic surprised the Namekian half-demon warrior as much as Kagato's voice annoyed him, a statement clearly reflected in his reaction:

"Magic wand? Tsunami? W… what are you talking about!?" Piccolo shot tentatively.

"Get it from any of your friends that might know about this," Nagi commanded harshly in reply. "As for right now, I think it's about time you went away. Cell, attack!"

"On it," Cell said with a smirk, before he teleported in front of Piccolo and, at what was practically the speed of light, delivered punch after punch after punch to Piccolo, both in the face and in the gut. The strongest Namek in recent memory now began to feel a throbbing pain at every single punch that was delivered, until Cell suddenly teleported a shot a sharp wave of energy to Piccolo, which resulted in an explosion, and as they could see once the smoke finally cleared out, extensive damage to the Namek's right arm. Piccolo was also knocked out, looking as if he was sleeping, except with many battle scars, a withered arm, and a couple of small wounds about him. He wasn't exactly a challenge, but had he really been more prepared to fight, it wouldn't be exactly this easy.

Garlic Jr. then extended his arms, with palms out, towards the inside of the sanctuary, resulting in the rise of his dark green throne once again, right back in the same spot where it was before. Panicked and shocked at the sight of this, Popo and Dende were now trembling.

Cell then walked over to Piccolo, however, and kicked him off the lookout. Quickly noticing and crying out Piccolo's name, Dende went down after him, able to get to him just after he had fallen past Korin's part of the tower. Seeing it there, Dende went into the area, laid Piccolo down on a table there, and began to heal him, when Korin walked up the stairs and appeared there.

"Hey, Dende! What's got you coming down here, and-AAH! How did Piccolo get hurt like that!?" the old white cat guy asked, surprise evident as he said the last part.

"It's Cell and the rest of them. They caught us off guard," Dende explained, continuing to concentrate on the healing of Piccolo.

Meanwhile, the evil foursome now had Sasami knocked out in their grasp and the completely black assistant of the guardians, Mr. Popo, all to themselves. Seeing the utter and complete helplessness written on the face of Popo, who backed away trembling towards the sanctuary inside at each and every second now, the four villains smirked.

"Allow me to take care of this one, my friends," Garlic Jr. offered graciously, which Popo heard. His immediate reaction was to now turn around and make a run for the sanctuary. It turned out to be completely useless, however, as Garlic Jr. was able to quickly catch up to him. Garlic Jr. then attacked him with left and right hand punches to the face of Popo, followed by a jump spinning kick which knocked Popo back. With Popo already scarred and barely able to pick himself up, Garlic Jr. then charged up an energy ball of some kind of strange golden aura, in the same formation as the Masenko blast that Piccolo had taught Gohan. He then shot the ball at Popo, who ended up being electrocuted, shocked, within some kind of strange presence. Soon, though, he went through a cycle of shrinking. Nagi laughed at what was happening to the magic carpet rider, thinking it entertaining for some reason. Soon, though, he completely froze, and was shrunk to the size of an action figure.

Garlic Jr. walked over towards Popo, taking his time. He intended to enjoy this capture. However, Cell decided to swoop down and pick up Popo, then throw him towards Garlic Jr. with an instruction of "Catch!". Whilst growling in dissatisfaction at not having been able to complete take Popo at his pace, Garlic Jr. caught the inferior now-little guy, then took out a miniature glass bottle from his robe, after which he proceeded to place Popo within the bottle and put it safely back in his robe. Once again, he trapped Mr. Popo in one of his glass bottles. But this time, it was not so personally gratifying as it had been last time, probably because of Cell speeding up the process and spoiling all the fun out of this.

"Garlic Jr.!" Kagato suddenly called to him, still in the air. Why Kagato did this, Garlic Jr. did not know, yet he still tilted his head upwards toward his ally.

"I just figured out something that will allow my hand not to wear out on me, and that will greatly reduce the effort needed to securely retain Sasami within our grasp," the silver-haired minister of darkness continued on, Garlic Jr. starting to be intrigued at the idea. "That beam you just used to shrink and capture Mr. Popo? Why don't you apply it on Sasami?"

It was just at that moment, that she began to awaken. Her eyes struggled and squinted open for a little while, before they suddenly snapped open as she was surprised by something that she was seeing. Now fully awake, the little princess was now fully aware that she was being held up in the air against her will, a horribly familiar gloved hand strongly gripping her neck. She was hovering over the lookout, and there was nobody on it but Cell, who was just standing there, and Garlic Jr., who was looking at her while charging up some strange golden energy ball with his hands crossed in front of each other up in front of his forehead.

"Let go of me, Kagato!" she screamed, beginning to kick away. In annoyance, the man chopped her in the back of the neck and threw her down, right as Garlic Jr. launched the attack. She felt some kind of weird electrocution effect taking place upon her, and also recognized the world around her as getting larger… or maybe it was her getting smaller. She didn't know exactly what it was, but not only did it horrify her, but for some strange reason, she was also paralyzed. Soon, though, she found the world go large it was like everything was titan-sized, meaning either that or she was just turned into a doll. And, in the spirit of such, she found herself picked up by Garlic Jr. and hoisted into one horrible glass jar.

Meanwhile, Goten and Trunks were flying through the world, when the clouds suddenly got dark and covered the entire sky, and a thunderstorm was beginning to brew. It seemed like it was all over the place, not just here, though. It just felt completely wrong to them. The sensation was enough for the two boys to completely stop in their tracks, after which they looked up at the sky and seemed to be more or less amazed in the terror that apparently encompassed the earth. Also, it was right around this very same time that Ryoko and Raditz arrived in the exact same spot as the two boys, the exact same effects of the situation falling upon them as well.

"What… what the heck is going on? It just doesn't feel right. Not one bit," Trunks first complained immediately after beginning to recover his senses. While he was still surprised and completely freaked out, he wasn't a stationary being anymore. The trio of Goten, Ryoko, and Raditz turned towards Trunks, immediately in agreement with him.

"You mean you guys don't have a clue about this either!?" Ryoko asked, her voice raspy as it usually is when she's angry.

"And aren't you going in the opposite direction from the Masaki house… wait a minute! Were you just there!?" Raditz followed up, equally mad, as this was no time to play around.

"Yeah, we were! That's no reason to get all worked up about it!" Trunks shot back defiantly at his father's ex-comrade.

"Sorry. Anyway, you need to follow me back there, now," the long-haired Saiyan immediately ordered, before flying off in the direction of the house. Ryoko followed him closely behind, but then noticed that the boys were just standing there. After she turned around with a sharp order of "Well, what are you waiting for!? Come on!", however, the kids knew that they'd better follow instructions and go there now. They followed Raditz and Ryoko immediately to the Masaki house.

Back at the Masaki house, the group was all at the table in the main hall. All, that is, except for the displaced Sasami, and all the inhabitants of the house knew exactly what that was all about. Ayeka was affected more than anyone else, as anger began to course through her features. She was standing, with clenched fists, and her head bowed. Her fists and face shook with anger, and one could even hear a slight growl from her occasionally, making her feelings about the situation more clear and evident than ever. Suddenly, she stopped shaking, and tilted her head up slightly to look at her seated comrades.

"That's it. I tried to hold off from making this decision about the matter long enough," she stated. Knowing exactly what she was talking about, the rest of them all had looks of shock on their faces, really believing that she was serious about this matter. "It's time to call the ships of Jurai, to find and destroy them."

"Ayeka, are you sure about this?" Tenchi demanded, really not wanting it to come to that point. "If I know how most non-Earthlings think of our planet, I doubt they'll even care to protect it even if you tell your father specifically not to harm the planet."

"I know that risk, Tenchi," she replied sullenly, sincere in that statement head for one more second. "But I also know that my little sister and fellow Juraian princess has been kidnapped by four satanic superpowers whose current location and whose reasoning for their actions is always unknown unless they show themselves or tell us exactly what their plans are!"

"Yes, but the ships of Jurai would completely destroy this planet if you let your dad use them! We all know that he's not evil, but at the same time, he doesn't care about anything other than what's best for Jurai!" Washu immediately complained to her, knowing Emperor Azusa about as well as any Juraian thanks to her having been a professor at its Science Academy back in the day. "Unlike most of us, he would command the ships to destroy the Earth to fish them out if he had to!"

"While that is the unfortunate truth, that's not even the main reason I believe that would be a terrible plan," a voice said from the corner of the room. The group looked over there and instantly noticed that the Madri Scholar was there, again with his stalker-like mysterious antics and valuable information.

"What is it this time?" Kiyone asked, curious as to what the bad information could possibly be.

"One of the worst things I could ever have neglected or forgotten to tell you guys, although now finally seems to be the perfect time," the Scholar revealed, earning the group's intrigue, as well as frustration, which he would proceed to kill almost instantaneously with this statement. "Kagato's ship, the Souja… it's back, and badder than ever. For some reason, it can undergo some kind of transformation by which its size and power will increase dramatically and exponentially."

"What!?" Yugi immediately yelped out in surprise.

"Wait, you're kidding me, right!?" Washu shot in immediate dejection at what she was hearing. "Kagato couldn't possibly have rebuilt the Souja! I created the Souja, just like I created Ryoko! Only I could duplicate it!"

"I'm afraid you're wrong there, Little Washu," the Madri Scholar corrected her, not forgetting to call her by the name she likes to be referred to while in her childlike appearance.

"CouldithavebeensomekindofspecialmagicalartifactthingiethathasthepowertolethimhaveanythinghewantsandhefounditandhesowantedtheSoujabacksohegotitbackjustlikethat?" Mihoshi exclaimed quickly while fiddling around with her control cube, as Kiyone groaned watching her friend quickly mumble out gobbledygook. However, the Madri Scholar understood everything that she was saying.

"I'm guessing you have no idea you're talking about the Dragon Balls, do you, Mihoshi?" he appropriately guessed.

"The… Dragon Balls?" Mihoshi asked, confused about what that meant.

"And so, I wonder once again: where were you when they handed out the brains?" Washu shamefully asked the blonde officer.

"But they don't hand out brains," Mihoshi complained, again not getting it, and again annoying Kiyone. "We're born with them… right?"

"Yeah, everyone except for you, Mihoshi! Could you get quiet and let the guy tell us what's going on here!?" Kiyone finally shouted at Mihoshi, the usual episode of getting ticked off by her quite clumsy and seemingly stupid partner happening once again. A quivering Mihoshi leaned back away from her angry partner and said "Yes, ma'am."

"Now, may I please continue?" the Madri Scholar asked in his irritated vocal state.

"Go on right ahead," Tsunami offered in response.

"Thank you. Now, the ships are very powerful, and Azusa could destroy the Earth to find those cretins, but despite the complications that it could bring, that's not even the worst factor of this plan," the Madri Scholar went on to explain. "What is, however, is the fact that the Souja is already powerful enough to destroy the majority of all Juraian ships in its normal state, but when it transforms into its newfound power, then Tsunami, not even you as the ship of Jurai could defeat it." Right then and there, the very words he said were the cause of gasps filling up the entire living room.

"But… but isn't Tsunami… the single strongest power in the universe?" a shaken Tenchi barely managed to ask.

"Well, she's _one_ of the strongest powers in the universe. Being one of the three Chousin goddesses will do that to a person," the all-seeing wizard of the universe affirmed. "However, there is no way for one to determine exactly which one is even supposed to be the highest power in the universe, or if any of them even are for certain. The bad part of it is the one that isn't among us, that complete enigma Tokimi, could be the #1 power. And trust me: having no idea what she is like in any way is very, very scary to me, whenever I think about it. So I prefer not to. Anyway, the matter at hand: Souja."

"Forget the Souja's power, and forget Jurai's ships," Yugi suddenly said with venom in her voice, Somehow, her overly large red and black striped headdress appeared on her head and tilted her hair upwards once again, just like back when she was trying to take over the world. Everyone was now on edge to see exactly what she would say and/or do now. "Ayeka and I will personally see to it that Sasami is back with us."

"Hold it! When did I agree to this!?" Ayeka quickly interjected in some sort of fear, which must have been contributed to by Yugi's re-donning of her dark outfit. "And what could you possibly have in mind all of a sudden at a time like this!?"

"I don't have anything in mind, but Ayeka, because you're the First Crowned Princess to Jurai, let me ask you this," Yugi interrupted, unwavering in her conviction and forcing Ayeka to take notice. "Are you going to hide behind your dad's military and sacrifice every soldier that pilots or commands a Juraian ship now that your sister Sasami is on the line, just because of who is it that's got her in their grasp?" Immediately after that question was asked to her, Ayeka gasped and trembled with her eyes wide and her mouth open at the realization that this act of cowardice was exactly what she would be doing if she really went through with the ships. Soon, though, she re-made her decision and regained her composure, bowing her head and half-closing her eyes.

"No, Yugi. There is no way I fade into obscurity with my sister's life in danger," Ayeka finally announced, which received no reaction from Yugi. "Thank you for telling me what I needed to hear. Now, we must go."

"Yeah, but… how? And where?" Mihoshi asked, having the occasional very good point.

"For some reason, I believe that someone and an answer will be arriving within the next few seconds," the Madri Scholar responded, much calmer than the situation around him. And within the next few seconds, Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan arrived via instant transmission, which, as the Scholar and only the Scholar figured immediately, was the solution to a certain annoying piece of the problem that the Kuramitzu girl had just mentioned.

"Let me guess: those creeps kidnapped Sasami, didn't they?" Goku asked, the kind seriousness poring out of him as he spoke.

"I saw it with my own two eyes," Yugi and Ayeka both said simultaneously, with the same fighting expressions on their faces.

"Yeah, I kind of figured as much when I sensed something bad was here, and then right after that, not only was it not here, but Sasami was gone too," Goku pointed out, before turning to the Madri Scholar. "So, Scholar: do you know exactly where they are?"

"Offhand, I can think of only one of two places," the Scholar replied immediately. "And one of them is the lookout."

Meanwhile, the villains of the world were all standing in front of the inner sanctuary. All, that is, except for Garlic Jr., because he loved his own throne seat too much, and because he was the one guarding the glass bottles with Sasami and Mr. Popo inside, and needed to be the most secure in order for them not to have any chance to reveal themselves.

"Why are we waiting for them here?" Kagato turned around to ask the one inside the sanctuary, beginning to get a little fluttered about the whole waiting game deal. "I thought you hated taking over this place because it felt boring!"

"My seat's the only good part of this place, you're right," Garlic Jr. explained, as his voice echoed from inside. "The only reason we're biding our time here is because we don't want to be giving them a squat of information about the Souja, especially if they don't know anything about its being brought back to begin with."

"I'm just itching to get my hands on whoever they're sending in after us," Nagi commented, putting a smirk on her face.

"Anxious to fight, are we?" Cell noticed, looking to Nagi with his usual smug smile on his face. She became slightly annoyed with his comment, and her smirk disappeared as a result. Suddenly, via instant transmission, Goku appeared before them, Ayeka and Yugi alongside him.

"You four should be ashamed of yourselves! What in the world could've driven you to kidnap Sasami, of all people!?" Goku sharply demanded, coming forth and cutting straight to the chase.

"Why don't you ask Ayeka and Yugi? That if, is they actually know," Nagi suggested to Goku, who could tell she obviously didn't care to share any details with him.

"Nagi, I'm now and forever appalled at you," Ayeka cut into this already-hostile conversation, and not to be a peacemaker. "You would join forces with the likes of Kagato, Cell, and Garlic Jr., and do all of these things? Killing friends, interrupting otherwise peaceful interaction between two realms, and now kidnapping my little sister!? Is this all just because you want to destroy Ryoko so badly!?"

"Thanks for setting me off there, Princess," Nagi replied in a cold and dark tone, evidencing to Ayeka even further that this was the reason why Nagi was an evil, uncaring person right now. "But that's not the direct motivation for Sasami being taken away, shrunken, and turned from our potential end into a harmless little dolly."

"Your potential end?" Goku asked, confused yet still sternly objecting against Nagi and company.

"So you do know about the power of Pretty Sammy, don't you?" Yugi figured out, the anger building up with every word she said.

"Thanks to a couple of ridiculous phantom copies of Vegeta, yes, we do," Kagato answered coolly. All three of the enemies standing before him ground their teeth in anger at having to hear him. They didn't hate him as much as Ryoko, but none of them would ever claim to be his best friend.

"That's it! I've had enough of this standing around and exchanging insults!" Ayeka suddenly shot. "Yugi and I came here to fight you, and to rescue Sasami, so that's what we're going to do!" And with that, she started to build up some kind of energy, which Cell and company immediately paid attention to, sensing a battle nearing. Soon, in a furious scream, she released her Juraian power, causing a very high wind to suddenly come to the place. In the physical manifestation of the end result, she was in another costume, more made for fighting, and her face became gray, with several black claw-like markings on each side of her face, around the cheek area.

"Cell, come on. We've got a lesson to teach these two about who they're messing with here," Nagi said as she stepped forward and entered a fighting stance, instructing Cell to do so as well with those words. He did follow her instructions, after which Ayeka and Yugi immediately got into fighting mode themselves. Goku and Kagato looked at one another, studying each other's intentions despite being unable to read their minds. Goku saw in Kagato's posture that he had no intention of getting into the fight as long as there would be no interference from Goku or somebody else to make it a 3-on-2 in favor of the good guys. And so, Goku took a couple of steps back, which told Ayeka and Yugi that this was their fight. They smiled at him for it for a second, as they wouldn't have it any other way right now.

The first ones to charge in this, the second battle at the lookout between the two sides of good and evil since the Dragon Ball Muyo realm assimilation, were the obviously angry Ayeka and Yugi, at which Cell and Nagi smirked, knowing what kind of disadvantage the two girls apparently had no idea they were being faced with. Ayeka charged at Cell with a punch, and Yugi lunged Nagi with a kick. Nagi dodged and axe-kicked Yugi right down to the ground, while Ayeka was caught, swung around, and thrown down by the arm. Goku looked on in some sort of concern, but did not make any reaction, for several reasons. Cell tried to kick the downed Ayeka, but instead, she got up and managed to sidestep his assault. She then waited for Cell to turn around and managed to cause him to stagger with a punch straight to the face without warning, before which she charged up and shot an energy beam from her hand, which hit Cell and caused a minor explosion. She then assaulted him viciously in order to instantly fish him out of the relatively small cloud of smoke before it cleared, by coming after him with a right hand punch to the face, a left hand punch, and then a jump spinning kick to send him sliding down on his back. Ayeka then attacked by shooting another energy beam from her hand, which this time had more energy behind it and produced a larger blast. Looking at Cell with anger in her eyes, she knew he wasn't finished. And when she saw him emerge from the ground immediately after the smoke cleared without so much as a scratch on his face, the purple-haired royal diva (let's face it, people) looked petrified for a second, before putting her game face back on as he walked towards her, laughing.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battle, Yugi was actually charging up an attack from underneath Nagi, much unbeknownst to her, as she was busy watching Ayeka's little scuffle with Cell, as well as basically underestimating the small child that went up against her just a minute ago.

"Look out, Nagi! She's attacking you!" Kagato quickly warned her, after which she turned around below her and saw the two energy beams within each of Yugi's hands. About one split second before Yugi shot the beams towards Nagi's head, the bounty hunter managed to move out of the way, and Yugi's attack plummeted harmlessly into space. Nagi then tried to kick Yugi, but the girl managed to roll back to gain some distance, then regain her vertical base. Yugi, once comfortable again, then came after Nagi and charged at her with a punch, but Nagi was able to block it, and then with a knee to the jaw, sent Yugi flying. However, the little girl managed to stop herself, but did not bother coming down.

Instead, she watched as Cell came over to Ayeka and attacked her. The princess managed to dodge, after which she tripped up Cell and made him fall on his back with a leg sweep, showing fighting skills that her status as a royal made into quite a surprise. She then jumped up in the air and came down on his midsection, which made quite the painful landing, for Cell at least. After Ayeka got off, she awaited his getting up. As soon as he did get back on his feet, she attacked with a running elbow, but Cell was able to move out of the way and leave behind an after-image so that she did not see how he escaped. Looking around in surprise and panic, Ayeka was kicked in the back of the head by a roundhouse kick from Cell, which sent her stumbling forward on the floor away from him, before she finally stopped, flat on her stomach.

"Well, I have to admit, your skills are quite impressive. You aren't exactly on the disadvantage that I thought you were on after all," Cell admitted to Ayeka as well as to himself smiling. "You've proven that you can definitely handle the speed of this fighting pace much better than I predicted. If that wasn't the case, you would probably be completely dead in the water at this point."

"Well, I'm not dead in the water now, so you can definitely be quiet with that embarrassing concept of an idea!" Ayeka shot, picking herself up as she made this yelling statement. "I have someone to save, someone to protect. And I don't intend on failing her by losing to you!"

"Who, Sasami? She's in our hands now," Cell reminded Ayeka, causing her to tremble in anger at the bio-android being of perfection. Suddenly, without warning, Cell approached and attacked Ayeka at a moment's notice with a punch to the midsection, and then a high kick to the jaw, sending her high into the air. Though aerial combat wasn't her deal, she could handle it for a while if necessary, so when Cell got behind her, she did manage to stop herself and turn around, though he did start flurrying at her with punches and kicks. She was rendered semi-helpless, successfully blocking some of the attack movements from the flying fists and feet, while being unable to keep all of them away from the art of hitting her. She was struck by many of these blasts, and it was not a happy thing to be a part of, getting hit pretty much over and over and over again, with the exception of the few times she managed to block the attack. In fact, it was pretty painful to watch as well, if you were Yugi, Goku, or anyone rooting for Ayeka right now. After knocking her down hard with an axe handle smash, Cell stayed up in the air and extended his arms up. Horror extended in Goku's eyes, knowing that Cell was going for his dark version of the Spirit Bomb.

_If it hits the lookout, then it'll be finished!_ the Saiyan hero thought in obvious distress at the situation. _But I can't cut off the blast because Kagato can cut me off!_ Suddenly, an idea came to him.

"Yugi, he's going to launch an attack that could destroy the lookout! As soon as you even see a spot of a green energy ball forming over Cell, you've got to blast it so that he has no chance of forming anything!" Goku warned her. She took heed and set her line of sight directly over Cell's head, and soon could see that little spot of green. Yugi attacked the Dark Spirit Bomb with a barrage of ki waves, which soon amounted into enough unwanted energy for it to blow up over Cell. As it did so, he ended up being knocked down and landing on one knee, which Ayeka saw as an opportunity that she was forced to let get away due to the devastatingly painful assault she just suffered at the hands of this vile bio-android villain.

"Nagi, get her!" Cell managed to tilt his head up to instruct his partner, who then immediately took out her laser whip and attacked Yugi with it, the pain shooting through her and pretty much stopping her from doing anything at all that she had in mind. Nagi then used the whip once again, but this time to grab Yugi and thrust her down to the ground. Nagi then picked up Yugi, dropped her, and slapped her with a backhand, sending her sliding down.

"Formidable in her fortitude: yes. Determined to save her friend: yes. Fighting with any sort of chance at defeating me: I don't think so," Nagi commented somewhat boastfully, while someone watched in the shadows and was particularly attentive about this.

_Clearly the girls aren't giving up, but I doubt anyone can say that they really stand much of a chance of actually winning this one. I know I'll have to cut in, and then after that, it'll be time for me to show myself and really put a scare into Cell,_ he thought with a smirk developing on his hood-hidden face.

_I don't plan on deserting Sasami for a second, but I'm going to need to use a little strategy if I'm even gonna take any kind of an edge in this one,_ Yugi thought as she picked herself up, struggling through much pain to do so. After she finally ended up standing somewhat straight on her two feet, Yugi started panting for a little while. Ayeka was up by now, and formed a white plasma sword. But instead of going after Cell, she switched up the picture somewhat and went towards Nagi, swinging the sword at the huntress's head. However, Nagi was able to see it coming and to sidestep the attack, after which she took out her power sword and charged up a pixel wave through its center. She then launched the pixel wave at Ayeka, but it didn't hit the target, because a force field suddenly came around Ayeka and protected her from the brunt of the damage, which was only slightly broken through, resulting in a small added sting of pain for Ayeka to deal with. Turning around to notice Yugi with her arms stretched diagonally, forward and away from each other, directed towards Ayeka, she knew exactly who was generating this shield. However, it was right at that instant that Yugi let go of her position, as well as the energy field, and actually placed a smirk on her face.

To Nagi's surprise, though, the girl then let out a huge scream as well as stretched her hand up into the air, after which thunder starting coming out of her hand and forming something in the sky. What it formed ended up taking the shape of some kind of giant blue ice demon thing. The blue ice demon growled in the direction of the villains, after which it then came in and walked after Cell.

"Yugi, how kind of you! Giving me target practice?" Cell taunted, facing the demon with a smirk on his face. "I thought you hated me! Or is it that you're finally just giving up?"

"I do hate you, Cell. If you think this is easy, you're about to learn a lesson," Yugi explained, a venomous tone filling every syllable of what she said. "And as for the whole giving up thing: Sasami's in danger. Just like Ayeka, I will never give up."

"Sounds to me like you know me better than I thought you did, Yugi," Ayeka finally spoke up, taking up everyone's attention, after which she managed to knock Nagi down aside with a spinning kick. "Oh, and by the way: I'm also quite skilled at using a whip myself, though it would be none of anyone's business to know what that's about. Perhaps that has a little something with how much of a surprise I apparently am to you."

Yeah, a surprise, and an annoyance, Nagi thought angrily as she began to pick herself up.

"Azaka! Kamidake!" Ayeka suddenly called out, following which the two guardian knight pillars appeared before her. "Attack Cell, now!" In reply to her command, Azaka and Kamidake built up electric energy, and suddenly shot it at Cell. It did give him a slight shock, though it wasn't significant for actually giving him pain as much as annoying him and stopping him in his tracks. Meanwhile, the blue giant that Yugi had just summoned picked up Cell and began to crush him, which stopped the shock. However, for some reason, the monster's grip was not enough for Cell's bones to crack at all. That reason would soon be discovered as Cell suddenly broke out with a huge scream of power which began to shake the tower a little bit, as well as completely broke him free from the attack of the big demon. He suddenly charged up a quick Kamehameha-like wave, and just shot it out at the monster, tearing it to shreds and effectively destroying it. Yugi and Ayeka looked completely shocked, and the hidden figure, who nobody had yet to detect in any way, started to become active.

"It's too bad that you couldn't give up yet, ladies, because now you die!" Cell threatened, before he suddenly found himself shot by an energy blitz-like attack from below. The explosion was one of great power the likes of which hadn't been seen in this battle yet, much to the dismay of a certain someone. After the smoke was cleared, part of his body was actually melted up a little bit, and he was shaking in complete shock at who could have done this. Now, he was out from behind the bushes and in the open for everyone to see, though his brown hooded robe still kept his identity hidden from the people's eyes.

"H… how could you do this!? Who are you!?" Cell hostilely demanded, while trying to recover from the pain of the sudden injury that befell him. He was trying to build up enough energy to use his regeneration cells in order to restore himself to normal, but at the same time, he was angry at whoever this person was that had assaulted him. Suddenly, the person grabbed his hood, and tore it off of himself, following which every saw a young man in black hair with black thin eyebrows and big blue eyes. He wore an orange scarf at the neck, and had on a black shirt with the Red Ribbon logo, over a white sweater. He also had blue jeans with a slight tear at one of the knees as well as a gun holster on it. He also sported white and green sneakers. His appearance, which was definitely familiar to Goku and Cell, was impressive and shocking to everyone.

"Wait a minute! It's you!" Goku exclaimed in complete shock at seeing this young man.

"Seventeen! But I thought you were finished when I absorbed you!" Cell yelled also, in the same amount of surprise as his righteous enemy. The first words of the confidently smiling Seventeen were as follows:

"Check this out, Cell. I'm the ultimate jinzo'ningen around here, not you. And now's the time for me to prove it!"

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Seventeen: "I'm back, and I'm so much more powerful than I was back when you absorbed me, Cell. So you know what? I'm gonna beat you!"

-Cell: "You must be out of your locker, kid. Go ahead and try me. But as you can see, Ayeka and Yugi stand no chance, so what makes you any different?"

-Seventeen: "Didn't I just get to telling you what makes me any different?"

-Nagi: "I don't know if this is exactly a good idea, really…"

-Kagato: "That power… it's stunning… I doubt we'll have much choice but to retreat."

-Kiyone: "Eighteen, I think we know someone you'll really want to see."

-Seventeen: "Hey!"

-Eighteen: "Oh, my gosh, Seventeen! I never thought I'd see you again! I can't believe it's really you!"

-Seventeen: "Next on **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, I get into a fight and a family reunion in **Chapter 24: Return of the Raven Cyborg**. Hey, sis. Could you calm down a little bit?"


	24. Return of the Raven Cyborg

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Grand Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: Sorry for the longest pause in the history of all time, people. School started up on August 14th, making me have to find time to be able to focus on my fanfics as well as schoolwork. Not to mention that I still have my wrestling story, and this Code Lyoko project I've been working on for the longest time with my good pal Dragon and Sword Master. Obviously, I've been a bit busy, but I don't intend on abandoning this story any time soon. For those of you who were used to coming over and looking for (and finding) an update pretty much all the time over the summer months, then all of a sudden you come here and don't find any updates over these few months, I'm sure you guys understand, but I will still apologize. I'm sorry for the letdown, but I just wanna say I will continue to try to update this fic further.

Oh, and Dragon Ball GT will be momentarily passed off as an "alternate timeline" for storyline purposes.

**Chapter 24: Return of the Raven Cyborg.**

"How could you be the ultimate jinzo'ningen when I was stronger than you before I even absorbed you!?" Cell immediately demanded, angry at the remark that Seventeen had just given a second ago, as well as his interference overall. He was just about to comfortably finish off Ayeka and Yugi together, and probably even Goku afterwards, sending the message to the special forces united against him and his comrades that the universe was no longer a treasury of peace, but a sanctuary of their dominion. Next thing you know, this annoying and apparently delusional idiotic pest makes his return like this, proclaiming to be more powerful than the super perfect one!

"Well, it's actually quite simple, but it's kind of on a need-to-know basis, and I honestly don't think that you either need or deserve to know," Seventeen replied without effort, still as confident and relaxed as ever. This was actually his nature, unless somebody was giving him a really tough fight or was seriously pushing his buttons. However, being that he was obviously more of a young man, and that he wasn't some big evil brains of an operation, his cool was a much different kind than Kagato's.

"I am perfect, and worthy of the world," Cell boasted about himself, though unable to mask his anger at the young cyborg's wit. "How could I not deserve to know one silly little fact?"

"Here's where your whole argument fights itself, Cell," Seventeen began to explain. "First of all, despite the obvious purposes for Dr. Gero's design, Cell, even you're not perfect. If you were, nobody would even be competition for you. You wouldn't need to be an ally to Kagato, Garlic Jr., or Nagi. And more importantly, you wouldn't have been destroyed by Gohan after absorbing me and my sis _and_ self-destructing. Last I recall, I believe that's you in power-weighted "perfection"? And then, you got so much stronger, but Gohan is still such a match for you."

"No, he's not. Had he faced me alone, he would probably be dead. But he had his father and his little brother right there with him," Cell pointed out, somehow sounding oblivious to someone's presence.

"Hey, I'm here too, you know! And if you think you're getting away with murdering the world and pompous postures, one of these days, one of us is gonna get you guys!" Goku sharply pointed out, reminding Cell that he was there. After turning around and realizing this, the bio-android only gave a small chuckle and a smirk, before turning back towards Seventeen.

"He's right, you know. And who knows? One of these days could be right now. And one of us could be me," Seventeen added, showing no fear of Cell as usual throughout this whole series.

"Ha! What are you talking about?" Cell demanded with a confident "I dare you" smirk on his face, obviously thinking that the black-haired cyborg rebel was bluffing.

"You put on that cocky smirk in the belief that nobody can muster up the courage to do you wrong, but ultimately it's meaningless," Seventeen stated, which caused Cell's face to harbor and grow a look of surprise. "Let me show you what I mean!" After this statement was finished coming out of his mouth, the raven-haired renegade closed his eyes and removed the smile from his lips so that he could get serious for a minute and focus his energy. After a few seconds, a force field developed around Seventeen, and the surface of his body then began to glow, with wind blowing upwards inside the field. Standing out was how his hair raised up and blew in the wind (looking somewhat similar to Yumi Ishiyama from Code Lyoko whenever she is transported from Earth to Lyoko within the scanner), the clearest of these physical signs that Seventeen was charging up and channeling his energy into some kind of change. Everyone watched curiously, Cell and Kagato's eyes being the most transfixed and seriously watchful in their gaze upon Seventeen. After what seemed like an eternity of preparation, Seventeen finally released, screaming out as lava erupted from the ground within his field. Soon, the entire area within his field was covered in flames bursting upward, and the tiles below it cracked into about five pieces a tile, before completely breaking off. The entire tower, in the meantime, was actually shaking. Knowing that he had an impressive power despite having a total lack of ability to sense it, the group were all in awe at the scene before them.

"Whoa," was all that Yugi could let out before forming a sentence from the shock at what she was paying witness to. "How much power must he have!?"

_This is amazing, and I don't even know how much! Could he really be exactly what we need in order to be able to win the day?_ Goku asked himself within his mind while watching this in an equally speechless state.

Seventeen's energy field expanded slowly and considerably as the flames could no longer be held back completely. But before the field completely broke and nothing could separate the fire from destroying the entire tower, the cyborg brother's scream and fire burst stopped, but his body kept flashing on and off with a golden light, until it suddenly stuck for half a second, during which the force field opened and broke off, putting a small ounce of wear and tear onto every yet-untouched tile and stair up here. The bright light suddenly burst open into a million small sparks which all set off almost instantly and caused an explosive blinding light, forcing all eyes to shut and turn away for a little while.

Once it was safe to turn back towards Seventeen, they all saw that he had changed drastically. His hair, for example, was much longer than it had been earlier. Also, his outfit went through a couple of changes. As opposed to the black shirt with the RR logo with the white long sleeve sweater under it, he now had a dark blue sleeveless shirt with two unattached long sleeves of the same color, nothing touching the shoulders. Also, as opposed to a regular belt and a gun holster, he had a golden RR belt on his jeans, and even his footwear changes, having mostly dark blue boots with touches of brown and gold. Not to mention the fact that he seemed to be about a foot or so taller than he was before. He looked intimidating, more serious, and despite no ability to sense his exact power, the impression he gave was one of a supremely powerful entity here. Other than the Super Jinzo'ningen himself, everyone was amazed at the size and apparent power that he had. Even Kagato had to be slightly taken aback.

_Considering that he has no ki, or at least no detectable ki, for me to be able to certainly admit that his presence screams high power level is absolutely impressive,_ was the thought going through the mind of the cold snake genius. _But let's see if he is legitimately strong or if it's all show, or just as importantly, whether or not my friend here takes him seriously._

"Tell me, Seventeen," Cell began while trembling at the mere awesomeness of Seventeen's power, which he saw either rivaled or surpassed even his own. "Tell me now! How did you gain the ability to transform, and how did you get that strong!? I demand an answer, **now**!"

"Consider how I'm about to kill you, you're hardly in a position to make demands," Seventeen advised Cell, riling him up and causing him to grind his teeth.

"Stop with the wisecracks immediately and tell me now before I blast this whole entire lookout into smithereens!" Cell shot with a melodramatic threat to try and scare Seventeen into telling him.

"Okay, fine," Seventeen said with a sigh, seemingly resigning himself to say what he was going to say next. "I guess I have no choice now but to tell you exactly how it happened." As he told this story, flashback images came into his head. Please try to imagine this as he tells it, ladies and gentlemen.

"_Somewhere in the middle of my waiting in line to be sent to either heaven or hell, I was brought back to life, exactly where you had been, Cell, before you got destroyed. At first, I didn't understand, but then, I just figured they did a wish to bring back all your victims, and seeing as how the only reason I was destroyed was because I was in you and you absorbed me, I was brought back too. But because of my mechanical advancements, I knew that my ki wasn't going to be easily found. So I just resigned myself to the fact that nobody would even know if I was back, and just went on with life, wandering around for about seven years. Somehow, I never found will or reason to look for anyone. That was probably because I actually had some really cool adventures along my way."_

"_Not that I became a world hero or anything, because most of the places I went to, I just adapted well and made friends with people, and they didn't have much trouble. There were a couple of unfortunate villages where some dinosaurs were attacking and stealing food from people when I showed up, so I ended up having to display my incredible power. For a while, in each of those places, they considered me a god, until I asked them to stop embarrassing themselves because they were praising some kid with superhuman abilities. But generally, I think my most exciting time was during the whole Majin Buu thing, when Goku and friends started talking from out in space and basically telling us they needed a Spirit Bomb to destroy Buu. Now, I heard of the monster, even though I never met him. Right there, I remember watching a weird shower of energy balls that fell all over the world, and I figured it was Buu, killing everyone. And I basically said to myself, that I'm not gonna meet Goku again anyway, so why not get in the picture one last time? So I took out a rifle and tricked a couple of guys near me into raising their arms, and then I followed suit."_

"_Of course, after that, I went back to my same usual lifestyle, but eventually I found myself at a certain shed in a field in the middle of a forest. Standing right there, waiting for me, was that weird universal wizard guy, the Madri Scholar. He told me about an opportunity to become stronger, because someone was hunting me down. That someone, he explained, was actually a clone of me that Dr. Gero made to fuse with me into the ultimate killing machine, just in case Cell didn't turn out to be a success. However, he had to create a controller in HFIL, which took him awhile, since I destroyed him before he could create one on earth. Apparently, he finished the controller and had activated the thing, which unlike everyone else could sense exactly where I was. And days later, the other me did arrive."_

"_He tried to convince me to join with him into a permanent new body, one which would make me stronger, faster, cooler, better, than anyone else. But I was personally uninterested in power, so I pretended to accept his deal, then I completely kicked the crap out of him as he was about to start the process. I was going to destroy him after that, but then the Madri Scholar advised me to take the power, saying that I would eventually soon need it. With the other me going through with this fusion in bad condition, I'd have full control over my body and its power, and being that I own this fusion, I wouldn't exactly be forced to stay, or even get, into my new form. He would just be a living boost inside me, that I would access to transform whenever I wanted it."_

"_At first I was a major skeptic, since I didn't know this Scholar guy at all, let alone enough to put any kind of special trust in him. But then he told me he was the all-seeing eye of the entire universe, even beyond this realm, and he was able to use this incident as proof and counter all my questions. So, convinced fairly enough in the guy, I went through with the absorption, and just for the spirit of trying it out I made the transformation. The sensation of it was incredible. When the whole thing was said and done, I noticed that I became taller. Leaner. Stronger. More built. It was like I'd evolved into a penultimate version of myself. For awhile, Cell, I even started to understand why you kept on going for me and Eighteen constantly."_

"_So that's how I became the mature, killing machine-reminiscent, assassin-like form that you just saw me transform into before your very eyes today. The power that I could feel inside me from this transformation, was something I never dared dream about. It was absolutely incredible. And yet, at the same time, I didn't want to be in that form at the moment because I wasn't in any kind of fight, and it felt a little too serious and creepy, so I reverted to my normal self immediately. And then, I came up with a name for my new body: Super Jinzo'ningen #17, or Super Seventeen for short. Fortunately, I've found that even in my Super Jinzo'ningen state, in which that machine mutant does affect my personality and power a little bit, my clone has no effect on who I truly am."_

"_From there, I ended up living in the shed, entertaining myself with only videogames and cell phone conversations with some of the coolest people, including some beautiful girls, among those I had met over my time around the world. Between that and training, I also had to come up with some holy disguise by which I'd be able to make some grand entrance. The Scholar then explained that he was going to set off a turn of events by which our realm would be meeting with another one. And the Z fighters, my sister included, would be meeting with another group of powerful people in the universe as a result. Suddenly, I was struck by inspiration. That I missed my sister, and that she probably missed me. So I told him to allow me to show up in the middle of this new alliance. Since then, he was filling me in on everything."_

"_Unfortunately, you guys ended up coming back and being a big problem. So, my introduction among the new and old friends would have to take place in some battle. He kept filling me in on everything, and soon, I found myself thinking of one of Tenchi's girls as being cute. I'm not gonna tell you which one it is, because I'm guessing by now that it's a really bad idea. Anyway, the first time I cut in with my Power Blitz attack was during the battle between Gohan and Tenchi against Kagato. I was the source of that explosion. In a very out of character moment, all I did was blast him with that and walk away, because the Scholar told me it would build a bit of a holy and mysterious image. But nobody paid any mind. They all considered it a freak moment."_

"Then I lost a bet, about whether Raditz and Ryoko would fall in love. Considering the Scholar tells me your moves are done as if you know everything about my new and old friends right now, I'd have to think by now you probably already know. Anyway, the very next time a fight broke out, which just happens to be now, I had to make an appearance again. This time, though, now you know who I am. I'm back now, and I'm so much more powerful than I was last time you saw me. Now let me introduce you to just how strong I am," Seventeen proclaimed, after finishing with the entire story of how he ended up from being brought back to life from dying inside Cell to this very moment. While Ayeka, Yugi, and Goku stood there impressed, Cell's teeth were assembled together in anger at the fact that Seventeen not only was back to annoy him some more, but now was very powerful, possibly even moreso than Cell himself. In a flash, though, the monster's calm came back, as did his wit.

"Seventeen. You seem to be very confident in your suddenly newfound powers and skills," Cell commented with a smirk on his face. "But in case you haven't been watching carefully enough while living under a rock, Ayeka and Yugi here haven't exactly proven to stand a chance against us."

"I'm actually a little shocked, Cell. I thought you guys would be taking every shot you can to run away from me once I transformed," Seventeen stated with only an iota of melodrama in his voice. "After all, you guys, there is a chance that maybe you just don't have enough to withstand my power, and that I could kill you."

"I wouldn't bet on it, but still, I don't know," Nagi replied as she turned towards Cell and Kagato. "This fight might actually turn out to be a bad idea."

"We'll never know if we don't try, and I think it's best that we know our enemy as much as possible," Garlic Jr. said in a low tone as he approached his female ally. He then turned towards Seventeen with his usual cocky smile and gave him the following invite: "Well, Seventeen, if you're really that powerful, then hurry up and show us what you've got!"

"Don't complain to me, shrimp. Talk to Cell. He's the one I'm waiting to fight, and he's just standing there talking, and not even lifting a finger to back it up. I may be doing the same thing too, but I'm waiting for him to make the first move," Seventeen replied in criticism of the stunned Cell, showing signs that his cocky demeanor still existed, at least to an extent. This instantly got on Cell's nerves and revived the bio-android's angry facial expression. "Speaking of whom, hurry up and get your sulking over with so we can fight."

"Fine," Cell growled, before he and Seventeen charged in after each other and collided elbows, which caused a spark in the area the likes of which blew everyone away, though not literally. As soon as they split off, though, Cell came at the android and kneed him in the gut, following which he got an array of punches and kicks on the Super Jinzo'ningen, culminated with a straight right hand to Seventeen's skull, knocking him back. Cell then got up in the air and issued a roundhouse kick to Seventeen's head, sending him rolling and tumbling down. Cell then mounted over Seventeen and punched him in the face several times, before getting kicked over the android's head and down. Both then got up, following which Cell punched Seventeen again, but Seventeen retaliated now with a punch of his own on Cell's cheek, knocking him back and over the edge of the lookout. He was sent flying away, but soon reappeared after instant transmission behind Seventeen, following which he struck him with a chop to the back of the neck.

"Seventeen!" Ayeka gasped in worry about her newest ally as she saw him get knocked down hard by that maneuver. However, that turned out to be her getting all worked up for nothing, as he quickly turned around and backhanded Cell, followed by a continuous array of lefts and rights to the gut of the monster, which was quickly followed up - as if in cycle - by a right hand to the face, sending Cell flying back. Seventeen got behind Cell and kicked him upward, though, following which he charged up a Power Blitz, then raised his arm up as he shot the wave out of his hand upwards toward Cell. It hit his target and exploded right on him, following which Cell was sent falling straight down into the ground. Though it was apparent and obvious that he wasn't dead, he already struggled considerably in the art of getting up, but didn't seem to be suffering quite as much when he finally got up, except for maybe his pride.

"How, Seventeen?" Cell asked, ensconced in the complete befuddlement that this situation has brought to everyone. "Just tell me. How are you doing this? How are you actually matching me?"

"No, Cell. I've got you right where I want you, since the minute you make what you'd never think of as a mistake, you're dead," Seventeen replied with a smile, causing Cell's mouth to temporarily open in shock.

Meanwhile, down at the Kame House, there was somebody looking up into the sky and thinking about something, no, specifically, someone. It was Eighteen, with her daughter in her arms, wondering where her brother was again. (She didn't know he was back yet) As she looked up, she remembered the charismatic raven-haired causeless rebel that he had been and wondered how he'd managed to stay quiet all this time if he was still alive. As she shook off a feeling she was getting in the pit of her stomach, she thought back to how they retained their sense of self after that mad genius Dr. Gero forced them to become cyborgs.

Yes, they did enjoy the incredible power, but not the idea that their human identities were ditched for numbers, or anything else that Gero did to try and use or control them for his own purposes. They didn't ask to be altered, or given any kind of lame programming, but that old man and his power-hungry revenge-thirsty mug still did those things to them. They resented him for it, which was part of the reason (the other part being their great artificial power gave them the ability) that the minute they got the opportunity thanks to the Z Fighters overwhelming Gero, they immediately took advantage of the opportunity and killed him. From there, they activated their half-brother of sorts, Sixteen, and the three of them - at that point the strongest fighters in this realm - went to go find Goku. Of all the things they'd ended up going through during that time, who would've thought it would include Piccolo doing better against Seventeen than Vegeta did against Eighteen, stealing and driving a pink van, raiding an outfit out of Chichi's closet while Goku wasn't home, and then finding out there was this thing called Cell that was supposed to eat these two up and become perfect, and that a little peck on the cheek of a cutely scared cue-ball could change one's life even more than finding out about Cell? But before her thoughts could shoot to Krillin and tears (she had to stay strong because of their daughter), she pushed her thought of him to the back of her mind, opting rather to reflect on her brother.

_Seventeen… where are you?_ She wondered to herself as she starting pondering about the many possible answers and huge length of time between now and back when Cell had absorbed Seventeen. _Where have you been? Where did you go? So much has happened it seems like it's been forever since you've been gone…_

Then, she realized something. Her cyber ki sensors were starting to act up.

Meanwhile, back on the battlefield, everyone was (to one degree or another) stunned at seeing the causeless rebel cyborg hosting a considerable advantage over Cell, the being that had once absorbed him to become one step away from perfect… the one step that he had finally accomplished after absorbing Eighteen, Seventeen's sister. The most surprised of them all, was Cell himself. Sure, he hadn't exactly accessed the maximum electric weight of his power just yet. He had no need to, because in his personal view, Ayeka and Yugi were nothing to him, and he would rather kill them slowly than release his full power upon them. But now he was facing Seventeen, who used to be precious to Cell but had outlived his purpose for any such usefulness the minute he came back to life outside of the bio-android. As his white face shone out all the shock and wonder of his mind right now, Cell thought of this precarious situation as some incomprehensible dream.

_Now, this is impossible! I must be having a nightmare! Seventeen, little punk kid Seventeen, the one I absorbed to become complete, could actually be my equal! Never in my entire life should this happen!_ were the exact frustrated words Cell was screaming in his mind.

"Are you gonna hurry up and fight me already?" Seventeen asked irritably as Cell looked on in surprise. "I'm already getting tired of this. You know I'm better than you right now, so why don't you hurry up and bring everything out?"

"No!" Kagato screamed, sticking his hand out in Cell's direction as an shocking pulse of energy suddenly knocked Cell backwards and down, sending everyone, partner and enemy, into a gasp. "You won't be exerting your full force, Cell. I'll be battling your cyber-enhanced friend for a little while. (turns to Nagi and Garlic Jr.) You two go to Cell _now_."

Still immobile for a second due to being surprised at Kagato's hitting Cell, Nagi was the first to understand. After replying with the word "right", she went over to Cell.

"Hey Garlic, get over here already!" she called out to Garlic Jr., who snapped out of his own funk and went to Cell also. Kagato then made a force field around the three of them, which teleported away from here.

"Ah! They're gone!" Yugi exclaimed.

"No, Sasami!" Ayeka screamed, realizing immediately that her sister was now definitely captive… and there was nothing enjoyable about a bit of it. The minute she said that, something suddenly hit Seventeen, causing him to grow into shock himself.

_Shoot! The little princess! I completely forgot about her! I let them get away!_ was the panicked thought that was going through his head Seventeen shouted, berating himself. Meanwhile, seeing the allies in such a distracted state, Kagato smirked, then went over to each of them and attacked. He came to Ayeka and kneed her in the gut, causing her to double over and go down. He then shot Yugi in the head with an energy blast, knocking her down as well as leaving a little smokestack there. After this, he ignored Goku's scream of "No!" and went to Seventeen, turned him around, and punched him in the face, following which he fired a continuous assault of energy beams at the raven-haired enemy. Seventeen was soon found guarding himself as the blasts kept coming and the smoke kept enveloping the field right in front of him. It wasn't until no inch of the cyborg could be seen that Kagato stopped in his attack. However, after the smoke cleared, he found Seventeen smiling, with his arms and legs outstretched.

"Let me explain something to you, Kagato, so that even you can understand it. With the enhancements given to me by the artificial me when I'm in this mode, I become a bit more of a complete model. My perpetual energy R&D becomes a cross between itself and an enhanced version of Dr. Gero's own energy absorption installment," Seventeen explained as Kagato grew wide-eyed with a combination of momentary surprise and curiosity. "However, despite the usual energy trapper inlet device on my gloves, my whole entire body takes in energy within an entire absorption field formed by me when I'm in this very position. So just keep sending those green ki shots at me, I'll just keep stretching, taking them, and becoming that much stronger."

"What!?" Goku exclaimed incredulously. "You can absorb energy!?"

"Thank the Scholar, cause he's the one who helped me learn that I could do that," Seventeen replied to Goku's statement, before loosening the position and turning towards Earth's galactic hero. "Hey, Goku. Go get these two out of the way, I don't want them on my conscience."

"Sure," Goku said with a confident nod, walking towards Ayeka, who knew what he was about to do and sharply turned towards him.

"No… don't return us home just yet, Goku," Ayeka requested as she struggled through a still somewhat sharp pain. Surprised at the princess's request, Goku stopped for a minute.

"Same for me," Yugi stated also, causing Goku to turn around and see that she was in the same state as her best friend's older sister. Remarkably, she was also able to suggest an idea. "Just let us inside and protect us, and I think we'll be okay."

"Got it," Goku replied, before getting into position for instant transmission, then accomplishing the exact feat as he closed all the distance between himself and Ayeka, putting the non-positioned right hand on her shoulder and immediately teleporting along with Ayeka over to Yugi, who then established contact with Goku herself, before he transported along with the three of them to right inside the actual sanctuary.

_So I guess I'll be taking a beating in front of an audience now, won't I?_ Kagato thought, slightly shuddering as he did so but yet still matter-of-fact and calm inside. _Oh, well. Better me than Cell. From what I've gathered, the minute he takes a shot to his pride, he's more miserable than a Saiyan. Besides, it would do me some good to give this half-breed an equal beating._

"Come on!" Seventeen immediately challenged with a scream as he charged at Kagato and punched him hard. Though Kagato was able to get into guard position and block the attack from completely hitting him, the Ruins Buster did get forced to slide backwards a considerable bit. After this, Seventeen dropped back, then charged forward again and threw a spinning backhand at Kagato, who was able to suddenly disappear, teleporting to somewhere out of dodge. Seventeen was slightly unfocused in his search for his silver-haired enemy, who unbeknownst to him with hover-creeping up from under the ground! Once all of his body was in mid-air, and the searching Super Seventeen finally turned around, Kagato gripped him by the neck. Seventeen sharply tried to turn the tables with a straight fist to the forehead of Kagato, but as soon as he hit Kagato, the villain merely disintegrated painlessly.

_Wait a minute, what just happened here?_ Seventeen was left asking himself, while all along, the one he was looking for was actually hovering far above the lookout and charging up ki energy from his right hand. He created a considerably large, but not giant, green ball of energy to blast at his foe. He then released the ball straight at Seventeen, who just noticed and turned around, and he was blasted straight away with it, the explosion doing even more damage to the area of the tower that Seventeen was standing on.

_That had to hurt,_ Kagato thought with his still-confident smirk as the smoke behind that blast started to clear. However, before it fully did, Kagato was surprised by the appearance of Seventeen flying up out of it towards him!

"Make no mistake about it, that was sneaky, catching me with the energy ball before I could set up to absorb it. But you're just not STRONG ENOUGH!" Seventeen exclaimed to Kagato as he was gaining on him, before immediately punching Kagato straight in the jaw (on the cue of "STRONG ENOUGH"), then hitting off a combination of punches and kicks that had to prove to be very uncomfortable for the Emporium mastermind, especially for whatever stomach he had. He then hit Kagato with a double axe handle which knocked him down but also off the lookout, causing Kagato to have to stop himself. He then looked up in the air and saw Seventeen standing just as he was a minute ago, with an energy ball in one hand stretched out below him.

"Flash Bomb!" Seventeen called out, before hundreds of quick yellow laser-like flashes of energy all came from between each of his fingers towards Kagato! When they came at the silver-haired enemy, he prepared to run an evasion. However, he only managed to dodge a few, quickly getting caught up in the major blast works of Seventeen's coolest attack in his Super form. A huge smokescreen ended up clouding where Kagato was, he had gotten hit so much by the attack.

"Ha-ha, you did it!" Ayeka cheered from inside the tower, assuming that Kagato couldn't stand that much power.

"I don't know, Ayeka," Yugi replied without that much haste to get happy.

"Me neither, but that was impressive. I doubt he's dead, but I know Kagato's at least thinking about retreating after that," Goku stated in confidence as Seventeen simply looked on and waited for the smoke to clear and show Kagato. However, the Ruins Buster instead came flying up the smoke towards Super Seventeen, then in mid-rush disintegrated… and rematerialized behind Seventeen, with his long plasma sword in hand! Seventeen turned around immediately and ended up being slashed, except that he left an after image and evaded the blast, then hit Kagato from behind with a backhand to the top of his head, sending him flying down into the lookout ground.

"And now to finish you, Kagato," Seventeen said, cupping his hands together and beginning to form a ball of dark energy.

"Not quite, boy," Kagato, in his stuck position, was forced to mutter to himself, before he got up and quickly teleported to behind Seventeen again, except this time quickly firing a strong energy beam at Seventeen's massive electric sphere and tearing it to pieces right there. After the display of a great power resourcefully countering a greater power, a strong Seventeen and a scarred Kagato stared one another down in the air.

"Congratulations. You're actually quite skilled. In fact, you're even more powerful than me or Cell," Kagato stated, having no problem admitting his inferior position.

"And I wonder why you're not sniveling like a baby as we speak," Seventeen replied, while putting on the confident smirk most associated with his Super form.

"I have no reason to. The call for shock was over a long time ago when Cell answered it fervently, as I'm sure he will no longer do after having a clearer measure of your power from watching this battle, either live or in the future," Kagato explained while still keeping himself in that impressively calm mode. "Also, you may be stronger than me, but my fighting versatility and resourcefulness is un-accomplishable by anyone. Therefore, you have nothing to celebrate."

"Oh? Is that so? Then why don't you demonstrate some of that ability right now?" Seventeen dared, suspecting that Kagato was probably bluffing to try and scare him. However, Kagato knew better than to give this super-soldier a clear answer to that.

"Well, I could show you something that no one else can do," the clerical snake-looking man finally responded, to which the smile disappeared from Seventeen's lips. "However, I'm not blind to the fact that revealing one's secrets before the opportune time is unwise. So I guess I'll just do…"

…and he stopped, instantaneously fading out from sight. However, he faded into sight right behind Seventeen and gave him a backhand to the back of the head, screaming "…this!" as he did so. He did the same teleport again to get in front of the uncontrollably motional Seventeen, then hit him with a charged up straight right hand to the gut. Seventeen was doubled over instantly, following which Kagato hit him with a double axe handle to send him going down. However, in the midst of his fall, Seventeen was able to recover himself and land harmlessly on his feet… only to have no time to do anything before Kagato was down to his level bursting at him with speedy punches and kicks Seventeen had to block staggeringly since he was just taken off balance by all of Kagato's motion. However, while Kagato continued to throw punches and kicks at him, Seventeen did manage to slowly take control of the exchange and soon he was blocking and dodging not with difficulty, but with ease. Eventually, he finally got tired of that whole exchange and decided to back up, following which he finally took the opening in time that he needed and released a huge stream of energy straight towards Kagato out of his two hands. Unbeknownst to Seventeen, the Madri Scholar by now had taken to hiding in the same place between bushes that Seventeen had hid at while the battle had been Nagi and Cell against Yugi and Ayeka.

_There's no way he could survive that if he took it head on,_ he assumed. _Yet I still don't feel that Kagato's done for._ And almost instantly, he figured out exactly why he was thinking like that, when he - followed by Seventeen shortly thereafter - looked up in the air and saw Kagato, standing far and high above the lookout. However, the teen cyborg (fused with machine mutant) actually put a smirk on his face when he saw Kagato, looking shocked and tired as he panted with his eyes wide open.

_Hah. He tried a frontal assault, and ended up running scared,_ Seventeen thought confidently, as this was embarrassing for Kagato. _Unless he really has those hidden abilities he was talking about and he's not still trying to hold them back, then he's about to run away or be done for within the next ten seconds._

While Seventeen was watching him with a smirk on his face, Kagato was panting up there for a few seconds, trying to recollect himself after having to basically use all his mental and physical speed for a second in order not to get killed, yet still coming so close to being vaporized anyway. With one final puff, Kagato finally was able to breathe regularly again.

_Time to end this,_ the villain finally decided. And with that, he slowly floated on down until he was touching the ground that Seventeen and the others were standing on.

"Allow me to let you in on a little secret," Kagato called out of nowhere loudly enough for his adversaries to hear, grabbing all the good guys' attention. "When your guardians, green with natural envy as they are, return from the tower right below ours, please tell them that the little princess of Jurai and your eternal genie are with us on the Souja."

"What!?" Goku yelled out in utter pure shock at the fact. "You've got Mr. Popo!?"

"Wait, you're talking about the completely black guy with the magic carpets and stuff, right?" Seventeen guessed correctly, though not exactly relaxed about it himself.

"Exactly. Goodbye."

And in the blink of an eye, the Ruins Buster was gone. Goku led the two girls out and towards Seventeen, who had his eyes tightly shut and his fists shaking in anger. His body was soon covered in golden light, which split into harmless laser particles as he went back from the Super Jinzo'ningen body to his original self, pose still unchanged. Heavily disappointed with himself for not finishing Kagato, Seventeen let out a scream of frustration.

"Hey, Seventeen," Goku called to him, the trio of himself, Ayeka, and Yugi right in front of the scarf-wielding jinzo'ningen. This took his attention, following which Goku continued. "Don't beat yourself up about not killing them here. You've got incredible power. I'm glad you're on our side."

"Luckily for you, he is on our side," the Madri Scholar suddenly stated, teleporting into their area and open view. "There is an alternate timeline where the machine mutant version of Seventeen here is made in HFIL, by Dr. Gero and another machine mutant named Dr. Myu, and in the very far future, he finally takes control of Seventeen and brainwashes him into breaking the gates of hell wide open, and then fusing with him into an even stronger version of the Super Jinzo'ningen you saw today. Problem is, that one would be evil thanks to the artificial Seventeen having control, and since the fusion would be "mutual", _you_ wouldn't own it in any way, leaving you stuck as the Super Hell Fighter."

"Wait, so you're telling me there's a time where the other me was able to control me from hell?" Seventeen asked while repeating the statement so as to make sure.

"Yes, it is," the Madri Scholar replied in his usual matter-of-fact sage-like self. "Before I went to find you, I saw the machine mutant version of you leave the area where this time's true version of Cell was destroyed and go looking for you to fuse. I was utterly surprised to find the machine mutant made here on earth in this time, but I knew to find and forewarn you the minute I saw it."

"So that's why you came to me about him," Seventeen realized aloud.

"Exactly," the Scholar replied. "Now, I must say, that was the most impressive thing I've ever seen. Cell and Kagato both left with any idea that they were #1 in pure power completely destroyed."

"Wait a minute, I've literally been through Hell before to clean up the place with Pikkon," Goku recalled as the Madri Scholar, realizing a good unexplained point, looked at Goku with a good idea what he was going to say next. "I never saw any other scientist, or any kind of mutant machine. How come?"

"Because in the reality of this time, Dr. Myu has yet to exist, and seeing how a part of his would-be operations has suddenly gone on without him even in the least notable mention, I can only assume that neither he nor the Tuffle parasite that created him will ever exist," the Madri Scholar replied with the same omnipotent wisdom that was his character.

"What will become of Sasami?" Ayeka suddenly interrupted to ask, still more concerned about her sister's safety despite all this information coming in. Seventeen, though, immediately was overcome with frustration and guilt once again, indicated by a furious roaring scream.

"If only I'd been more efficient in my attack, there wouldn't be any need to ask that question!" he lamented somewhat dramatically as he turned away and stomped the ground upon saying the word "question".

"Seventeen, stop beating up yourself!" Goku immediately ordered with a sharp turn, stopping the flustered cyborg in an instant. "You don't want to become obsessed with that fact that you couldn't kill him this time. Trust me, I've failed at it too."

"There's a difference between me and everybody else in this battle, Goku, and that is that I am stronger than Kagato!" Seventeen shot back, not accepting the emotional lift so easily. "I should've been able to kill both him and Cell, but I was so bent on showing off! It's like I gave them the opportunity to run away!"

"Well, one thing's for sure. This suddenly makes things very interesting. Except for the part where the biggest thing we've got going for us is beating himself up just because he couldn't get the job done at the same time as he reintroduced himself," another voice stepped into the discussion. The group all turned to see Piccolo, the one who said these words, along with the official Namek guardian of the Earth, Dende.

"Hey, it's Dende and Piccolo," Goku greeted the two, jovial as usual. "I was wondering where you guys went after _they_ took over the place."

"We went down to Korin's Tower for refuge," Dende explained.

"As I figured. From what I've gathered, Cell's even done a little growing up since the last time he was alive," Seventeen noted, still unhappy with his failed victory since he knew who was the stronger of the two.

"Wait a minute, I just remembered something," Yugi said unexpectedly, reinserting herself into this. "You're Eighteen's brother, aren't you? She lives over at some island called Kame House now. You should go down and visit her. After what happened to her husband because of Nagi, she'd be absolutely thrilled to see you."

"Sounds like a good idea, kid. Thanks. After this disappointment, I could use the lift," Seventeen stated, accepting her offer before he turned to Goku and smiled. "So, shall we go?"

Speaking of Kame House, a mere six minutes later, Eighteen was sitting down and watching Marron play with some dolls on the floor, as Oolong and Puar stood in the background. However, something had her disconcentrated, and while loosely related, as far as she knew it had nothing important to do with missing her brother Seventeen.

"There was something strange going on up there at that lookout," Master Roshi stated as he opened the door and walked in at that precise moment. Finally, he came in, after meditating on something for the better part of ten minutes. "Cell and Kagato's energies seemed to be draining, as if they were losing a fight, but it didn't seem to me like Goku, Ayeka, and Yugi were doing anything. Did they really come up with a special trap that worked that well or something?"

"No way. I refuse to believe it," Eighteen strongly disagreed with Roshi's speculation as she turned towards him. "There's no way you can convince me of something like that going on. Ayeka and Yugi were the ones doing the fighting. They were totally outclassed by Cell and Kagato. But then something, something unknown, drained a chunk of Cell's energy. From there, Nagi stayed out of the fight, and then Cell was fighting a losing battle against some kind of… familiar emptiness. That's the only way I can describe it, and I'm not talking about Majin Buu."

"Familiar emptiness? Could you actually sense what was there?" Roshi asked in wonder and possible marvel.

"Kind of, but not exactly. I actually didn't sense anything of an organic ki, but my cybernetics did pick up something there," Eighteen replied, not very changed in her tone until she realized something. "That used to happen when I noticed Sixteen or Seventeen fighting, but this one was closer to all the times it was Seventeen that it was to the one time it was Sixteen, except it seemed to be a lot bigger. Something or someone, just like me and Seventeen except _extremely_ powerful, was fighting there against Cell and Kagato. I just know it."

"Another cyborg? Well, whaddya know," Roshi said to himself, thinking on the matter somewhat heavily.

_Thank the stars. For once, Master Roshi is actually being serious for a minute,_ Oolong thought as he watched with his arms crossed. Suddenly, the group could hear a discharge of air, teleportation sound coming from outside the door, which prompted them to turn around.

"Hey, Eighteen! Come on out! There's someone who wants to see you!" they all heard Goku's voice call out.

"Goku? Hey, this better not be some guy you found on the street to take me out on a date!" Eighteen called across the walls to him with a warning.

"Nope. No dates. I wouldn't pull a cold one on Krillin like that. It's a friend that just wants to say hi, that's all," Goku promised with unwavering confidence. "Oh, and by the way, I think he knows you."

"Okay, who the heck is there with you? I don't have the patience for this," Eighteen demanded irritably, not really beginning to get tired of the Saiyan's little game.

"He doesn't want me to tell you. He wants you to come outside so he can show himself," Goku replied in decline.

"This better be good," Eighteen started a threat as she got up off the sofa and started walking towards to do. "If this is some sick joke, be prepared for me to make good on what Dr. Gero had planned for me to do."

"Sure," Goku said seemingly without any worry of mind. Still very skeptical as to his purposes, Eighteen opened the door, and saw the Saiyan hero standing outside. He then suddenly vanished in a teleport flash, using Instant Transmission to stand over on the roof. She then looked up and saw him, which sent her into a scowl.

"Goku, you've got some nerve!" Eighteen shot in complete disbelief that he actually would trick her like that, as well as anger at the fact that she was tricked in the first place. She began to charge up energy in her right hand, only to find herself interrupted by someone who was somehow unbeknownst to her standing right next to the door.

"Do it and I'd have to put you under galactic arrest for trying to kill a hero," the person said, actually sounding somewhat serious about it while keeping some facetiousness in there at the same time.

"Kiyone! What are you doing here? I thought it was a guy that wanted to see me," a surprised Eighteen responded as she saw the more serious of the two GXP officers that had become her friends, standing there with a hand on a hip and smiling as if there was nothing serious about the situation. "And why are you so relaxed?"

"It is a guy. He just asked me to come along. Look over there," Kiyone answered, straight to the point as she pointed past Eighteen to the cyborg lady's left (her body was still facing the door). Once Eighteen looked in that direction, she could not muster a reaction: never in her wildest dreams did she expect _him_ right at her doorstep!

"Tell me, Eighteen. Goku's got some nerve for what? For bringing me here so I could meet up with my long lost sister?" were the first words to come from the mouth of Seventeen during this reunion of the cyber-altered siblings.

"I… I can't believe it, it's you," she staggered to say, frozen in shock there at seeing him.

"Oh come on, sis. I came all the way over here just to see you, and all you can do is freeze in front of me like I'm some celebrity you've always wanted to meet but never thought you'd get the chance?" Seventeen jokingly and mildly complained as she just stood there. "You miss me, I know. Go ahead and let it all out." After this, she let out a small laugh, before calling out his name and running over to him in a big sisterly hug, which was broken after what seemed like a short eternity. Upon hearing the name "Seventeen" called out, Oolong, who was drinking some root beer soda, quickly did a spit-take all over Puar, who as Oolong would find out from a string of yelling that will not be featured here due to its complete unimportance, was none too pleased.

"I can't believe it! Seventeen, it's really you! For a second there, I thought I might actually never see you again!" she exclaimed in a rare moment.

"On second thought, could you calm down?" he somewhat nervously quipped. "You don't exactly seem like yourself right now."

"Considering who just showed up in front of me for the first time in almost nine years, I really don't care," she stated in reply, her voice calmer though still gleeful at his return exactly just the same.

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Goku: "Hey, you guys! Wait until you find out this piece of news."

-Vegeta: "Preposterous!"

-Tien: "Android Seventeen's returned!? And he's on our side!?"

-Ayeka: "And we still failed to rescue Sasami from those rogue scoundrels!"

-Seventeen: "Oh, come on princess, stop the guilt trip. If anyone is to blame for letting them escape with your sister, it's me."

-Ryoko: "Next on **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, the cyborg Seventeen officially becomes the title of **Chapter 25: New to the Party**."

-Raditz: "And trust me: she literally meant that."

-Seventeen: "No, Raditz. Trust _me_: I know it and love it."

-Eighteen: "Some things never change."


	25. New to the Party

**_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year._**

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Grand Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: The length of this chapter, my peeps, cannot be explained. I don't know why I ended up doing this much. So please don't ask.

**Chapter 25: New to the Party.**

"So, do you mind telling me how Goku was able to find you just now?" Eighteen asked her brother as they stood together outside the door.

"He didn't find me. I found him. Along with Ayeka, Yugi, Nagi, Garlic Jr., and most importantly of all, Kagato and Cell," Seventeen replied.

"So that was you fighting against Cell," Eighteen realized, until something stopped her in her thoughts. "But wait a second. How could you get so strong you could beat Cell in his perfect form? Last I knew, he could tear you to shreds before even one of us was absorbed."

"True. But let's just say, one of Dr. Gero's hidden creations turned out to give me an evolution as well," Seventeen explained quite vaguely.

"An artificial mutant clone, to be exact," Goku chimed in from up on the roof, taking the siblings' attention briefly.

"Goku, we won't bite. You can come down from there," Seventeen quipped in happy annoyance.

"Wait a minute, an artificial mutant clone? What's that supposed to mean?" Eighteen inquired to her brother with curious impatience.

"Don't ask me when or where he was able to do this, but Dr. Gero did create a machine mutant that was basically the same as me, allowing me to fuse with it on a cellular and mechanical level," Seventeen finally went into major detail about it. "We went through with the fusion and became one, in a newer, more mature and fine tuned version of me with absolutely amazing powers. Out of everyone here, good and bad, I am now the strongest in the universe. With the exception of the fact that _they_ were able to run away from me, which quite frankly ticks me off, it's all good."

"Then explain this body. Explain how you're able to stand in front of me as your original self," the blonde bombshell demanded again.

"I kicked his butt before we fused, so I've got control. Therefore I got the choice to either use the power or not, so I can switch back and forth whenever I want," Seventeen answered, a certain something about that sending Eighteen chuckling. However, that's when his smile disappeared. "By the way, Eighteen, I'm… I'm sorry about-"

"Don't be. He'll be wished back, and his killers will pay," Eighteen cut him off, knowing that her brother was talking about Krillin. "But thanks, anyway."

"So, Android Seventeen. That was you in some kind of super form fighting Kagato, huh? In that case, I'm really impressed," Master Roshi cut in, standing right inside the door as they saw when they turned around.

"Let me guess: the perverted old geezer?" Seventeen responded to his presence with a surprising (to the old teacher) complete lack of reverence.

"Why, you…"

"Yep. He's a true hentai, alright," Goku entered the conversation before jumping down to where they were. "Sometimes it's hard to believe he knows anything he's doing. But if you train under him, like me as a kid, you know he can be the exact opposite."

"Reminds me of someone I know, even though he's calmed down considerably," Kiyone cut in, after which Eighteen looked at Kiyone, then back at Seventeen with a question.

"Why did you ask her to come here anyway?" she asked. True to his character, Seventeen just shrugged. However, his sister persisted: "I know you can answer me. Now tell me, what is it?"

"I don't feel like mentioning it. You might expect something," Seventeen replied cautiously.

"Like what? That you're crazy in love with her?" Eighteen guessed, a smirk growing on her face as she said this and saw her brother instantly taken aback.

"Are you trying to come up with this stuff as you go to embarrass me!?" he shouted, unashamedly flabbergasted as the implication his sister was making. She merely gave a quiet chuckle and walked past Master Roshi into the house, in the process telling Seventeen she was just kidding. After a sigh of disbelief, Seventeen turned towards the old master.

"So, Roshi, tell me: have you been, um… up to your old tricks with my sister?" Seventeen asked, looking at Roshi through those threateningly mysterious eyes of his. The old man leaned away in the scared, backing off manner that was typical to such a situation.

"Well, uh, about that, Seventeen, I uh, can't say, heh," Roshi stammered in utter fear, hoping that Seventeen wasn't about to kill him.

"About that? I wish the answer was no," Eighteen called from inside the house, as she was starting to walk upstairs.

"Hey guys, I think I'm about to leave and do a status report. Need a lift home, Kiyone?" Goku offered the teal-haired GXP officer as he walked over to her.

"No thanks. I think I may want to stick around a little," Kiyone declined, which caught Goku a little.

"But I was going to your place first," he informed her, explaining his surprise.

"I'll let Seventeen and Eighteen take me," Kiyone replied simply. Seventeen looked at her annoyed as she said this, but neither Kiyone nor Goku seemed to notice.

"Okay. See ya later, everyone!" the Saiyan hero cheerfully shouted as usual whilst waving goodbye, after which he flew away to the others' goodbyes. After this, however, Seventeen quickly turned to Kiyone.

"Why did you have to stick me with transport duty?" he asked, obviously offended that he had to carry her home without having any say in the matter (despite the fact that she's not exactly a heavyweight).

"Relax, Seventeen. It was the first thing I could think of. Besides, you wanted me here anyway, so why not take me home?"

"I can't do it because…" he stopped himself in the midst of talking, unable to find a good complaint against taking her home. He didn't exactly like the fact that he had to deal with carrying her there, but he couldn't figure out why, until… "I don't get to fly freely when you're on my back, and not having freedom when one is in the air is very annoying!"

"What?" a semi-shocked Kiyone let out, before quickly getting over it. "Please. You just came up with that because you couldn't find a good reason."

"Yeah, whatever. I still don't like having to do this," Seventeen stubbornly protested, which took the smile off Kiyone for a second.

"And why is that?" she automatically demanded.

"Never mind," he said irritably as he folded his arms. "I give. You win. Happy now?"

"I won't even answer that," she replied indignantly.

"Lovers' quarrel?" Eighteen (who just walked out) and Master Roshi said simultaneously, for once being on the same page about something. Seventeen, in reply, slapped his hand above his forehead and groaned.

"No, and just for the record, Roshi, I'm not an android," the clearly exasperated Seventeen moaned in reply.

Meanwhile, the trio of Vegeta, Raditz, and Ryoko were flying across the planet in search of Goku. Ryoko and Raditz, along with Goten and Trunks, had returned to the Masaki house shortly after Ayeka and Yugi's departure, where Vegeta and Gohan, along with the majority of the intergalactic household from the Muyo realm, had been there to give them the full details. Riled up at the news, the Saiyan-human kids had tried to escape the house and head for the lookout, claiming that they could take the fight as Super Gotenks 3 and destroy Cell and Kagato. Gohan had to restrain his brother, as did Vegeta his son, both eventually having to resort to knocking the wind and consciousness out of them with a stiff shot to the gut. (Vegeta, of course, was the first one to do so, and Raditz had to actually step in and knock Goten unconscious himself, since Gohan wouldn't do it.)

Ryoko, Washu, Vegeta, Gohan, and Raditz were the ones observing how the fight was going through their ki sensing abilities and reporting it for the rest of the group. These five were stunned at the development that came up when they sensed Cell and Kagato fighting a losing battle, especially as they had no idea what was causing this to happen. The curiosity of a certain three was quite aroused, and remained so unto the conclusion of the battle, which saw the villains escape with their lives and Sasami. Goku did stop by shortly afterwards, but he didn't really give any information as to what exactly went on up there, instead dropping the tired and very bruised Ayeka and Yugi on the living room sofa and keeping details vague before taking Kiyone outside with him, talking with her for a moment, and then taking her away via Instantaneous Transmission. Now Ryoko and Raditz had decided to fly around in search of "that clown Kakarot", and Vegeta had to be a tagalong.

"I have to know what that was," Raditz said, leading the trio as he vented on about the mysterious source of the significant injuries that were being dealt to Kagato and Cell just minutes ago. "That couldn't be Kakarot! There's just no way in hell!"

"Please. He couldn't possibly come up with some kind of effective trap by which he won't even have to fight to win," Vegeta explained. "Kakarot may be a brilliant fighter, but not that brilliant. And he's definitely no remote kind of genius as a person."

"Why do you guys keep calling him Kakarot again? It sounds like you're dissing him," Ryoko honestly asked. For the same reason as it somewhat bothered her a little, she was also giving a smirk.

"It's his original name, given to him at birth as a Saiyan. I don't care what it sounds like, he should be proud of his Saiyan heritage," Vegeta claimed, wasting no time in giving his usual dignified response. Raditz had to muster a solid "Agreed."

"Okay, but could I join in?" Ryoko asked, which was sort of a cloudy statement as they didn't give any indication of anything for her to join.

"What do you mean?" Raditz replied with the question both he and Vegeta were wondering at the moment.

"Could I call him by that name too? You know… Kakarot?" she then clarified, only to receive a solid "no!" from the two Saiyans.

"Oh, come on!" Ryoko pouted, before smirking with a bright idea. "If you let me call him Kakarot, Raditz, you get to have me all to yourself in the onsen tonight."

"The answer's still no," Raditz replied after taking a few seconds to think about it. Final consensus: sure it would've been fun, but one's got to keep his pride, especially when that one is a Saiyan like himself.

"Aw, you're no fun," she whined, stopping in mid-air. This was one of her more childish times, to say the least. Raditz and Vegeta both stopped also, a few yards in front of her. Raditz, had his hands on his hips as he looked up in the air in amazement at this ludicrous situation, all about his little brother's name.

"She's your girlfriend," Vegeta reminded his former underling.

"Don't remind me," Raditz quickly shot back, embarrassed and flustered at the moment.

"Okay, but I can still use it when I'm with you guys, right?" Ryoko asked aloud to them, still persistent on the matter.

"**NO!"** Vegeta shot, though Raditz didn't back him up this time.

_Oh, well. I tried,_ the words went nonchalantly into Ryoko's line of thought, before she floated over and caught up to the pompous duo.

"Are you done trying to get a right reserved for Saiyans?" Vegeta asked, obviously irritated on the whole matter.

"Yeah, I guess," she replied with equal lack of care. The ambiguousness of that bothered Vegeta just the same, as evident by his still-angry expression.

"Let's go!" he quickly shot, before dashing towards the Son home, where he had expected Goku to be. Meanwhile, Raditz and Ryoko shared a smirk towards one another.

"If we hang out with my little brother, then and only then-"

"That's okay. I don't really like the name anyways. I was just seeing what I could do to get under Vegeta's skin," Ryoko informed her man, smiling and pointing to Vegeta as if poking the air. "And boy, did that ever work! He probably hates me now." with a shrug, a smile, and not a problem in the world about it. Raditz had to let out a small laugh, before telling her "come on, let's go." They then flew to catch up to Vegeta… which was actually very easy, because he was actually not going anywhere. He was now standing in mid-air only about fifteen yards in front of them, face to face with Goku, who just came here five seconds ago via Instant Transmission, right in front of the proud royal.

"Grrr… you're going to stop reappearing and disappearing like that!" Vegeta chided Goku, growling with frustration at the fact.

"What? Oh, come on Vegeta! I took Kiyone over to Master Roshi's place for a reason!" the cheerful Saiyan pleaded with that goofy innocent grin on his face. Vegeta, in disbelief and frustration because "that circus clown of a Saiyan" wasn't getting the point, slapped his hand over his forehead with a loud grunt.

"And that reason is…?" Ryoko asked, curious and baffled as was hinted by the somewhat silent but clear tone of her voice.

"Don't worry about it. Someone wanted me to take her there. It's no big deal. I don't have to go back and forth if that's what you guys want to know," Goku answered her question, speaking much more calmly now that the preceding statement didn't see him faced with Vegeta's anger.

"Let's hope so. Now, Kakarot. Could you give me some Kami-forsaken clue as to what in the blue hell was going on up there!?" the Prince of all Saiyans got to hastily demanding now that Goku was working his way up his last nerve.

"It's Android… I mean, Jinzo'ningen Seventeen. Eighteen's brother. He's back, and he's on our side. Not only that, he's got a fused body and a super form to go with it. He dealt tons of damage out there," Goku explained enthusiastically, all of which took the trio before him by surprise.

"Impossible!" Raditz cried out in complete disbelief.

"You're telling me he was the one who was so good against Kagato and Cell just now?" Vegeta asked cynically.

"Yep. As far as pure strength goes, he's the strongest in the universe now," Goku answered, telling them this major piece of news like it was nothing, which only served to drive them further into a gob-smacked state.

"You're kidding!" a disbelieving Ryoko exclaimed. "Right?" He merely shook his head in response.

"Whoa, that's gotta be some great power. To be able to crush Cell and Kagato like that," the space pirate female said in near-whisper, finding herself amazed. However, she quickly shook her head and exited that mode as something occurred to her, that was perhaps more important than Seventeen's new penultimate power. "Did you take him to see Eighteen?"

"Yep," Goku replied confidently.

"How'd she react?" Ryoko asked, curious on the matter. Goku looked up to the sky in response, reflecting about something.

"Seeing her brother again was easily the happiest she's been since Krillin died," he then stated, his vocal tone hinting (if not completely giving away) the impression that he was at peace. "I'm sure he loved seeing that from Other World. It brings me a bit of shine about it too."

"When we bring him back to life with the Dragon Balls, let's just hope Seventeen would approve of that weakling so that he doesn't go evil on us," Raditz then remarked, near-completely ruining the moment.

"Now why would you think that's even possible? I heard him say he was _sorry_ about what happened to Krillin," Goku countered, which did not affect Raditz as good a point as it was.

"Obviously, he could be lying," explained the eldest and longest-haired son of Bardock the brave.

"I wouldn't count on it. At least not now anyways," Ryoko stated in contrast. Despite the understanding that Vegeta was there to hear her disagree with Raditz and be surprised about it, she didn't exactly care; Eighteen's description of Seventeen, a guy who loved life like it was a game to him, comes off as too carefree to be the kind that would actually try to be overprotective of his sister, especially against an understood good guy with legitimate feelings for her. And with the exception of her previous yearn for Tenchi and any time her mood may be negatively affected by her previous experiences with Kagato, she knew something about being carefree.

_Gero… you tried with your controller. You tried with Cell. And you tried with the clone that made me Super Seventeen, but it all failed. Each attempt was stronger than the last, but I destroyed your controller, I was revived **out**side that giant bug, and I kicked the fake me into next century before merging with it. You tried to make me carry out your bidding, but all you did was reinforce my independence for when I truly became the world's strongest,_ Seventeen said within his head, as he was reflecting in thought about the maniacal scientist who changed him into what he is, the brilliant but evil Dr. Gero. This was a few minutes (about 15-25 or so) removed from the previous scene. He was going through these reflections while just laying down on the sand outside Kame House. Meanwhile, his sister Eighteen, with little Marron trailing close behind, stepped out of the house and started to calmly approach him. He heard a couple of light footsteps, then opened his eyes and tilted his head backwards a bit, allowing him to see the two that were coming up to him. He then rolled over on his front and picked himself up.

"Seventeen, I'd like you to meet my daughter Marron," Eighteen said as she pointed down to the petite pigtail blonde. When Seventeen looked down and saw her, he actually looked like he was a little surprised. "The Scholar did tell you that you're officially an uncle, right?" Eighteen, annoyed, asked upon seeing said apparent surprise.

"Oh, I know. It's just, seeing her in person and thinking, knowing, that this is my niece, it just makes me feel kind of old," Seventeen stated.

"Rest assured, you don't look a day older than you did when you got out of that chamber," Eighteen reassured her brother. "But hey; neither do I."

"And you got married and had a kid while I wandered the world," Seventeen recalled half facetiously, before finally crouching down and looking at Marron.

"Hey, kid. How are you? I'm your mommy's brother, your uncle Seventeen," he told young Marron, his typical sly-looking smile reappearing on his facial features.

"Did you just admit that you are an uncle?" Eighteen asked in wonder and surprise.

"Yeah, and it makes me nauseous," Seventeen replied immediately he looked at his sister, irritated at the fact she just reminded him of. After he turned to Marron again, he went on to advise her against that admission.

"Marron, do me a favor. Don't think of me as your uncle. Like I just said a minute ago, it feels kind of old. So just think of me as a friend. A super cool friend who happens to be your mommy's brother. Okay?"

"Uh… okay," Marron agreed, taking a little time as she did so.

"Nice to see we've got that cleared up," he replied, pleased. "So, have you been doing everything your mom tells you to?"

"Yeah," she cheerfully answered her uncle (a.k.a. super cool friend who happens to be the brother to her mother)'s question.

"Good, you're not old enough to start rebelling just yet," Seventeen commented with a smirk, .

"Seventeen!" Eighteen yelled, turning sharply towards her brother with a ticked off scowl on her face.

"Kidding!" he immediately said, cutting back on his statement. Eighteen, in disbelief, looked up and slapped a hand on her forehead. Seventeen then got up and put a hand on his sister's shoulder.

"Hey, sis. What's the deal?" he inquired as she turned to face him.

"Could you be a bigger idiot?" she asked her twin brother reproachfully.

"What? I said I was kidding!" Seventeen reminded her in his defense.

"You have a girlfriend to take home, don't you?" Eighteen quipped in reference to Kiyone, who gasped slightly at exactly how she was cited.

"Would you quit saying that!?" Seventeen stormed forward, taking care of the exception business for the both of them.

"Why do you keep getting so mad over that same joke? It's lame," Eighteen asked him, convinced he was overreacting too much.

"Try hearing it from the Madri Scholar five hundred times," Seventeen explained, a hint of irritation coming on as he remembered all those countless moments that he was speaking of. _All because I said she was cute. Next thing you know, he goes on a tangent about how alike we are, and how if Raditz and Ryoko are getting together then so should I seek to be with her… what a complete dummy he is if he thinks he's gonna influence me about that._

"On the other hand, I do kinda want to go home now," Kiyone pointed out, actually standing right behind Eighteen. "It is nice to relax out here, but it's not nice to look inside the house and see that old Kame-sen'nin in there drooling at girls over a fitness program fantasizing about when he can fondle them."

"Okay, but if I'm gonna be carrying you on my back I think I'll need to be in my Super form," Seventeen pointed out.

"In that case, then just take me by the hand or something," Kiyone somehow ignorantly suggested. The black-haired Red Ribbon cyborg brother turned towards her with a cross expression on his face.

"And why would I want to do that?" Seventeen asked slowly, his voice low but clear as were his feelings on the matter. After making that statement he shifted his eyes back and forth between her and Eighteen so that Kiyone could see it and realize his point. The blonde had no choice but to chuckle and smirk as she realized that a certain little suspicious ploy of hers was not going to be rewarded.

"You know, you could just go in this," Eighteen chimed in, before taking a capsule out of her jeans pocket. She pressed the capsule's button, then tossed it to the floor, following which smoke came up in its immediate area. The smoke cleared to reveal a blue winged four-door jet convertible hovering in mid-air. Kiyone's eyes grew a little wide and her mouth opened just a tad, indicating that she was impressed with the fact that a whole car could be hidden specifically in a _pocket-sized_ object like that without a second, third, or even fifth dimension being added to the picture by just the push of a button.

"That's pretty neat. Who made this thing?" she eventually asked.

"Bulma's father, Dr. Briefs, started this business. He figured out a way that you can make anything change between its true state and a pocket-sized capsule that you can actually take with you whenever you want. That's _why_ their house and business is called Capsule Corporation. They've been famous for these capsules ever since _before_ Goku crashed to Earth," Eighteen told the GXP officer, who could only muster a barely audible "whoa" after that.

"I think I'll take the driver's seat this time," Seventeen stated, walking towards said driver's seat and hopping over the door into it. He then started the engine and revved it up a bit. Eighteen immediately knew exactly what he was going to do and smirked at him.

"Hey, Eighteen! You want to come with us?" he offered calling back to Eighteen.

"No thank you!" Eighteen declined, not quite feeling up to it.

"Come on! The speed ride would be a ton of fun! It's not like this is a two-seater!" Seventeen kept on, persistent in his offer, until something came to him and he put on a smirk before continuing on. "If you really don't want to come, you could at least tell us why!"

"He has a point," Kiyone seconded his statement, though in all honesty she knew that she was turning the tables on Eighteen. She figured exactly what Eighteen was trying to do by leaving her alone with Seventeen, and wouldn't fall into it.

"Okay, fine. I just don't feel like taking a ride at breakneck speed, either with or without my daughter," Eighteen explained, finally conceding a proper reason for her refusal to ride. "If I come and take her, she'll be at the mercy of your reckless driving. And if I don't take her with me, I'll be leaving her in the care of Master Roshi."

"Good point," Seventeen admitted as he let out a chuckle. Kiyone, who chuckled with him, was walking towards the front passenger's seat. "Take the easy option and come with us."

"There's an easy option?" Eighteen asked, failing to see where he was going with this.

"Sure there is. Bring her along for the ride," Seventeen replied as if he hadn't a care in the world. "We're riding sky high here, not down low, so it's not like we're crashing into trees every three minutes."

"Fine," Eighteen finally gave in, accepting Seventeen's offer and walking towards the door in the back seat behind Seventeen's. She actually opened the door and got in civilly, as did Marron behind her and Kiyone in the front.

"While you're racing air, Seventeen, I hope you actually pay attention when we tell you where the house is," Eighteen advised and chided her crazy brother as he revved the engine again.

"The Madri Scholar already gave me directions. I know where the place is," Seventeen informed her. "Now, since it's time for me to drive super crazy and have some fun, you might want to tuck in your seatbelts!"

"If you do a wheelie or any dangerous fancy tricks with us in here I'll be forced to arrest you for reckless driving, endangering a child, and putting a Galaxy Police officer's life in jeopardy," Kiyone immediately got to warning Seventeen before he did anything nuts.

"Heh heh heh. I'll be sure to keep that in mind," he assured her, though the amused smile never left his face. He revved up the engine a bit one last time, before actually moving and quickly taking over the water, then into the air.

From there, we leave Kame Island just like they just did, and we go up to outer space. Specifically, the dark planet where the Souja lay. Inside the ship's chapel, where now there were two thrones - specifically those of Kagato and Garlic Jr. - the Emporium Overlords were once again discussing a possible plan.

"Ken-Ohki needs a rest. That much I know. We can't keep using him up to display the power of the merged Ken-Souja if there isn't gonna be any use for it," Nagi stated, finally beginning to realize the pointlessness of sending Ken-Ohki to increase the reins of power. That white cabbit of hers was the one source and subject of all her remaining compassion, and she was not going to let him die.

"At the very least, it does serve as an intimidation factor," Garlic Jr. pointed out, an easy counter as it was; he was again annoyed with Nagi's care for Ken-Ohki, as she could see when he looked her in the eye.

"But what do we do about this new enemy we've got on our hands?" Nagi asked as she turned to Kagato and Cell, changing the subject to a more important one.

"Don't tell me you're actually concerned about Seventeen," Cell retorted, as if strictly denying that he had been embarrassed by Cell at the Lookout.

"From where I was he was making light work out of both of you," Nagi recalled, feeling a little witty at the moment.

"Don't remind me. But I think I might know something that could work very well against him," Cell then informed the others with his usual noticeably confident smile reappearing on his features. Nagi and Garlic Jr.'s reactions clearly told that this was slightly unexpected to them.

"You can't be telling me you already came up with something to beat him with after he was throwing you apart not too long ago," Nagi said while smirking at Cell, practically daring the bioengineered android to reveal what, if anything, he did devise.

"Let me give you, literally, a word of advice," Cell said, becoming a little unclear in his wording, as to whether he was giving them his strategy or changing the subject.

"And that word would be…" Garlic Jr. began the statement, leaving the room for Cell to finish it.

"Over-consumption," Cell responded, doing exactly as projected. Kagato, instantly realizing Cell's point, fired a devilish grin onto his face.

"And to think I was beginning to doubt you still had it," the cold snake humanoid confessed as the completion of his reaction to Cell's plan.

Meanwhile, Raditz, Ryoko, Goku, and Vegeta were still in the same spot now as they had been last time we caught up with them…

"Okay, so where do we go from here?" Goku asked the others.

"What do you mean, where do we go from here? How the heck should I know!?" Vegeta asked condescendingly.

"Well, for starters, I left Kiyone and the androids at Master Roshi's place," Goku began explaining himself, as if it was nothing. "But… they could be heading over to the Masaki house any minute now, at least to take Kiyone there."

"Then that's where we will go," Raditz spoke confidently, as if he was in charge of deciding this for not only himself, but also for everyone else.

"Hold on!" Ryoko cut in, showing her annoyance at the fact of Raditz' apparent command by standing in front of him. "I don't really think I want to go home just yet. Ayeka's dead tired, so it's gonna be boring."

"You actually care about that excuse for royalty?" Vegeta inquired in surprise, making no attempt to hide an obvious irritation at Ayeka's trademark demeanor.

"No, I just think trading arguments with the old tree-hugging bag of Jurai is fun. She's easy to irritate," Ryoko explained, correcting Vegeta as well as giving him a reason to smirk. "Though, I wonder why you'd be so surprised if I did…"

"Hmm… are you still mad about when she slapped you in the face, perhaps?" Raditz stepped in to ask his former militant ringleader, smirking with amusement as he saw the unnerved scowling expression on the diminutive Prince's face. Vegeta turned harshly towards Goku's brother and commanded him to shut up, only to be laughed at by the others as a result. Goku's laughter, however, was actually quite lighthearted compared to the inter-universal R-rated couple; while they were laughing about Raditz having gotten Vegeta riled up, Goku was laughing because the way that Vegeta commanded Raditz to shut up actually sounded funny. However, like the devoted duo, he was driven backwards just the same by the sudden wind flow that occurred through the area when Vegeta suddenly screamed out with the utmost fury and immediately transformed into a Super Saiyan in order to get their attention.

"Now, why did you have to go and do that for!?" Goku demanded immediately in questioning of Vegeta's rash course of action. The Saiyan Prince followed up by powering down to normal again just as quickly.

"Hey, fools!" Vegeta almost instantly called over to the three of them in all his fury, ignoring the fact of Goku's previous question. "We were just going over which place we wanted to attend between Kame House and the Masaki house!"

"_Is_ there anything to go over? I vote the with one with the lake and the shrine. Remember, Kakarot did leave without giving any of us the slightest detail as to what went on at the lookout," Raditz again stated, except this time explaining his case rather than trying to impose it on the others.

"Oh yeah, good point. Looks like we've found our destination. Everybody in contact! It's Instant Transmission time!" Goku shouted in announcement, as if introducing some big huge show that was just about to begin. Raditz put a hand over his forehead and grunted at how utterly pathetic this was, before joining Vegeta in the art of putting a hand on one of Goku's shoulders. Ryoko leaned against Raditz's right shoulder, following which Goku got into position with two fingers above his forehead, then focused on finding the Masaki house. Within seconds, the group suddenly vanished into thin air, reappearing right outside the shrine.

"Why'd we come to this part of town instead of the house?" Ryoko asked, again left confused by one of Goku's actions. All she got was a shrug from Vegeta and a "beats me" from Raditz.

"Hey, Katsuhito! Come on out! It's me! Goku!" he called out, apparently to the old man, who usually did stay in here a lot to reflect and meditate. And as was proven by the sight of him walking out of his shrine office in a relaxed tone in order to meet the trio, this was a part of that time as well.

"So, what was it that occurred in the big battle?" Katsuhito asked as soon as he stopped, a few feet away from Goku and the others.

"Cell and Nagi basically kicked the tar out of Ayeka and Yugi. I didn't interfere, because if I had, I knew that Kagato also would, and it would probably make things that much worse," Goku explained carefully to the old yet spry Jurian. "But then, Eighteen's brother Seventeen finally showed up again. And man, was he good. In fact, I think he might just be heading over here right now."

"Oh, is that so? Well, it seems business is picking up, then," Katsuhito stated, analyzing the situation. "Especially if you mean he proved superior to Kagato."

"He may not have destroyed him, but he sure did that," Goku confirmed proudly, the smile coming on his face.

"The unfortunate factor, Kakarot! He still didn't get Sasami back, either!" Vegeta quickly interrupted the conversation to remind Goku.

"That will be done in due time, Vegeta," the elder statesman of them all replied serenely, speaking those words in clear cut like a true wise man. "I believe it."

"I get it now!" Ryoko suddenly cried out, her eyes beaming and lips teeming with a smile as a realization occurred to her as suddenly as a surprise attack would. "You took Kiyone to old Roshi's place because Seventeen and Eighteen wanted you to!"

"Sure did!" Goku exclaimed happily, with no shame in admitting what he didn't try to reveal or hide was figured out as he turned around to face her while smiling ever cheerily.

"Speaking of which, I've got an idea," she said with a certain twinkle in her eye. Immediately recognizing it for what it was, Katsuhito wanted no part of this, and immediately retreated into the safety of the shrine, however quietly and calmly so that noticing him wouldn't give the impression of fear.

"What is it you little wench?" Vegeta asked in pure tough guy annoyance.

"Vegeta!" the aghast brothers Raditz and Goku called as they turned towards him, chiding him quickly.

"How about you three Super Saiyans stand outside and wait for them to get over here, then when they finally do and you announce it, I come from out of nowhere and assault Seventeen?" Ryoko proposed. Raditz began to grow a smirk on his face as he saw where his lady was going with this.

"A test of his battle reaction skill, and of his basic power," he figured, as the two now turned towards each other, the exact same smirk filling up both of them as they knew it. "How utterly perfect," he then finished.

"Yeah, not to mention the look on Eighteen's face when she wonders what in the world is wrong with you," Goku stated, unable to completely stifle his obviously entertained chuckle. As for Vegeta, he realized all of this and actually was buying into the idea. He wanted to know exactly how good Seventeen now was, and this would be somewhat of a good measure of it. And even though the cyborg twins are now his allies, - he still refused to call them his friends - he's been inching at least slightly to get the better of them ever since they'd embarrassed him in his fight on the highway against Eighteen. And now came the perfect opportunity to do so, without doing so much as lifting a finger. And so, the smirk of confidence crawled onto the prince's features as well.

"For once, this kind of thing actually sounds good," he finally said in reply and final agreement.

From there, the four of them stood in front of the Masaki house. Well, really, it was more like just the three Saiyans among them; Ryoko came inside the house and filled everybody in on what was going on, following which Tenchi and Gohan went out to greet them and seek out further details from Goku as far as Super Seventeen was concerned. Playing the mystery card just for fun, he'd insisted that Seventeen could explain it a lot better than he, Ayeka, or Yugi could (and, in the case of the two tired girls, probably already had). Even Mihoshi and the Chousin sisters Washu and Tsunami ended up coming out for a little meet and greet with the Saiyans, though it was brief. (Mihoshi would've stayed outside with them to wait for her GXP partner Kiyone, but Vegeta wanted no part of it and ordered her inside, in the threatening position to blast her to smithereens with a Big Bang Attack.) All in all it took a few hours, maybe two or three, before the Saiyans' tested and true patience was paid off, and they saw a twinkle in the sky, following which the object behind it - the capsule jet convertible which featured the cyborg twins and Kiyone - could finally come into view.

"He's here!" Goku called out, following which Ryoko phased through the walls of the house and immediately came out flying after Seventeen. She got around the front window of the car and punched him in the side of the head, causing him to come flying out of the car, causing Eighteen and Kiyone to react with the immediate call of "Hey!", before they quickly realized there was no one driving the vehicle anymore. Kiyone, quite athletically trained during her time with the Galaxy Police, was able to go to the driver's seat and take the wheel in one swift motion. Meanwhile, Ryoko came right after Seventeen, but he was able to stop himself and get into some sort of stance as Ryoko started to swinging. He was somehow barely able to dodge all the punches and kicks that she had been sending his way for about fifteen seconds, before finally getting some kind of control in the situation. He blocked Ryoko's punch, then punched her right in the gut, following which he hit a quick open palm strike to her face, which sent her flying backwards. He then teleported into her path, then hit her with a double axe handle sending her crashing down into the water in front of the house.

"You didn't tell me Ryoko was completely nuts!" Seventeen shouted, at all of the spectators there yet at nobody in particular at the same time.

"How was I supposed to know she was getting set to attack you!?" Kiyone, having finally stopped the car, asked in clear retort as she took offense to the renegade's rude assumption. Meanwhile, Ryoko suddenly burst out of the water and flew up screaming after Seventeen. With Marron strapped to the backseat looking on scared at the sudden battle scene there, Eighteen would have absolutely none of it, getting out of the car and stepping in between the two and activating her force field barrier so as to stop Ryoko's movement and anything that Seventeen might do.

"Ryoko, Seventeen, stop it! What the hell is wrong with you!?" she then screamed out in total disapproval of these shenanigans. But before she could receive any answer as to her apparently rhetorical question, she and everybody in the area had to hear the laughter coming from down below of the three full-blooded Super Saiyans. She and her brother then looked over at Ryoko, who was actually smirking about and extending a thumbs up to the laughing Raditz, Vegeta, and Goku.

"Oh my gosh," was Eighteen's soft-spoken reaction as she just stood in mid-air, amazed.

"Well, I'll be damned," was Seventeen's reaction, complete with an entertained smile at how Ryoko and the Saiyans just pulled one over on him. Kiyone flew the car down, following which Seventeen, Eighteen, and Ryoko did so themselves. After Kiyone exited the car and Eighteen helped Marron out, the group all headed towards the three pure Saiyans, following which greetings were exchanged (the only jovial ones coming from Goku, the other two putting on their usual tough facades), and the group got to talking.

"Well, so you're the guy everybody's been carrying on about since Ayeka came back, huh?" Ryoko asked, in a relieved kind of "I found you" tone. "I'm actually impressed you were able to get back in control right away off that sneak attack. Let's just hope you're as fun as your sister here says."

"Believe me. Outside the rare case of guilt, like when he didn't remember to get Sasami away from the bad guys," Goku stated oblivious to Seventeen's eyes closing and head trembling in slight anger for a moment, "he's exactly as fun as she says, and some more."

"You didn't even see the three of us hanging out. You left early," Kiyone reminded him. "You're just saying that for the sake of it, aren't you? Not saying I disagree, but…"

"The fight with Kagato and Cell told me everything. I could see it clearly, that he enjoyed making those two monsters miserable," Goku replied, counteracting her point.

"So you got me figured based on my fights? Here I thought you were a complete idiot, but apparently that's only true in some cases of common sense," Seventeen remarked, overemphasizing his apparent surprise in the hopes of getting some kind of reaction from Goku. He did get one reaction; Goku's asking how he was an idiot.

"I think he just proved both of your points, Goku," Eighteen replied, and quickly continued before anyone else had the opportunity to react by telling him, "Don't ask."

"Are we going in sometime today?" Raditz cut in with all his impatience, pointing towards the house.

"You guys can go ahead. I'll come in a little later," Kiyone declined. "Mihoshi's probably gonna tackle me with a hug, and after dealing with a couple of crazy cyborg twins and being lucky that a complete pervert somehow didn't decide to peek at me, I need to relax a little before dealing with her next. Not to mention I still don't know if these two (points to Seventeen and Eighteen as she says this) would be willing to get her off me even if I did walk with them."

"Suit yourself," Seventeen merely said, not making one slick retort about the last part of what the teal-haired woman just said, opting instead to walk in the direction of the house. Expecting everyone else to follow suit, he got a little irritated once he saw that he was the only one walking rather than standing still. "What are you guys waiting for, a private invitation? Let's go!"

"Oh, right," they all murmured, before walking along behind Seventeen. Eighteen, with Marron by the hand, carefully flew forward a few steps in order to catch up with her brother.

"So, when are you gonna show us all that Super form of yours you and Goku have been going on so much about?" Eighteen asked her brother, a smile of interest clearly coming over her. Her tan-skinned brother, with his hands behind the back of his head, turned around to notice it and then gave a smirk.

"Actually…" Seventeen stopped himself while trying to figure it out, but he couldn't come to any conclusion.

"Well? Actually what?" Eighteen pressured, starting to get irritated.

"Actually, I can't say I know. But if this big happy family is truly as insane as the Scholar says, I may just end up dealing with it sooner than later," Seventeen replied, turning back around after he did so. Then the door started to open, before the group had reached it. They all stopped, seeing Ayeka step out and simply walk away from the house, heading towards the lake in front of the house, not even giving a glance toward any of the others. This caught Seventeen's eye especially, sending the cyborg into a bit of a daydream as he tried to figure out what was it that perturbed the princess so, or as a matter of fact, why he cared so much about figuring this out. In his little trance, he failed to notice that everyone had gotten inside, or that Eighteen was now asking him if he was gonna come in. She then had to come in front of him and snap her fingers right up to his face, which finally did the trick somewhat.

"Seventeen, why are you standing there just watching Ayeka? Is there something about her that captures your eye?" Eighteen asked, hoping for sanity's sake he wouldn't give a certain answer and drive her into disbelief.

"I don't know. Apparently she's moody and I give a crap for some reason, probably the same one," Seventeen answered simply. "I'm not leaving this to try and blow itself over. I gotta go talk to her and figure this out. I'll meet you guys back inside." And on that note, he immediately sprinted into the air and started floating towards Ayeka, giving Eighteen no moment to protest, only to open her mouth in preparation of the deed. Kiyone, who was standing off to the side, noticed as he flew in the direction of and landed right next to the purple-haired princess of Jurai, who had her hands held to her chest as an indication of worry. Curious, the officer turned around to see what this scene would bring.

"So, mind telling me what it is?" Seventeen pried, against all conventional wisdom it seemed.

"What is what?" Ayeka asked, unable to clearly discern whether she was really that easy to read for a guy she never talked to before in her life.

"What do you mean, what's what? What is it that's got you all worked up, and why exactly do I care?" Seventeen asked both questions, the second one seeming rude but the first one being prominent to Ayeka as evident by her bowing her head and closing her eyes as if praying inside her heart.

"It's… it's my sister. Sasami," Ayeka revealed, causing Seventeen to go wide in shock, not at the fact itself, but at the obviousness of it. He couldn't believe how the situation was staring him in the face, and how he had failed to grasp it from the moment he looked at Ayeka! Earlier today, they did fail to save Sasami from those jerk faces called Kagato, Cell, Nagi, and Garlic Jr. Naturally the usually snooty aristocrat was worried about her little sister, and Seventeen himself had been internally kicking himself over the fact that he specifically had the power to save her but instead focused more on toying with Cell and failed to grasp the opportunity when he had the chance.

"Ayeka, I just want to say," Seventeen started softly, causing her to turn towards him for just a second, "…I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. It's my fault. Sasami is my sister, and I had her best friend fighting by my side. I should've been able to fight harder, or sought the right opportunity after you entered the battle, so that I could save her," Ayeka said immediately, pinning the blame on herself.

"You and Yugi fought hard, but there was nothing you could do. After I went Super, I had all the power in the world. I should've done the job, but I was so focused on toying with Cell and teaching him a lesson I forgot the bigger picture," Seventeen replied otherwise, being more realistic about the blame that he pinned on himself than Ayeka was about her own. "So if anyone should be kicking themselves about this failure, then that someone is me. The only reason I haven't done too much of that, especially since seeing Eighteen again, is just that I'm a creature of fun at heart, and it's against my nature. Trust me, my sister can vouch for that."

"Your sister… so it's true. You are Eighteen's brother, aren't you?" Ayeka guessed, as if the question tone to it was necessary.

"Sure am," Seventeen replied casually.

"If they tried to take her away right in front of you, what would you do?" Ayeka then inquired, the what-if scenario going on inside Seventeen's head being responsible for a ten-second pause.

"The same you did after they got Sasami. I would fight like hell to make sure they don't get the job done," Seventeen answered to break said pause, all touch of lightheartedness gone in his voice. He and Ayeka both turned towards one another and smiled, having this common understanding between them. In a rare moment for Ayeka, she actually made a friend rather than a foe out of a complete non-regal person she met for the first time. Kiyone smiled at this, seeing how much the Super Jinzo'ningen truly did care about his sister, and how well he actually managed to relate to Ayeka through this one fact alone. She then closed her eyes, turned around and stepped towards the house, ready to go in now.

"Hey, look. Next time we fight them, if rescuing Sasami is possible, it'll be my first and foremost objective in the matter," he offered as he put a hand on Ayeka's shoulder. "How's that sound?"

"It sounds like you're a true brother. Nothing like that doctor that cyber fitted you tried to program you to be," Ayeka responded with a touch of happiness. Hearing those words from the princess made him think about how far he's come in distancing himself from the initial image of the Red Ribbon Androids brought about by Dr. Gero.

_The days of you controlling my every move are over. From this point forward, I will make all of the decisions concerning myself. You never have to worry about it again, you rotten old man._

And as those words came into Seventeen's head, he smiled as if at peace, for it took him back to the time when those were his exact sentiments, when he crushed Dr. Gero and literally kicked his head in, when he gave himself something that he now vowed that he would return to Sasami before very long: sweet freedom.

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-North Kaiosama: "Goku, we have an army of five here in Other World ready to combat any one member of the Emporium. I doubt they'll do the trick, but hopefully it can give us some measure by which we can beat them."

-Goku: "Wait, you're telling me you got my Saiyan dad out of limbo for this?"

-Seventeen: "Meanwhile, I end up becoming that eccentric little Washu's next guinea pig, except I've got a simple yet easily effective plan to turn the tables."

-Raditz: "So for the next entertaining caper in the chaotic world of **_Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year_**, we're finding more answers as it's **Chapter 26: Things are Coming Together**."

-Vegeta: "So, finally we're beginning to found something by which we can gain an advantage…"


	26. Things are Coming Together

_**Shift of Hearts**__**, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year.**_

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

_By P. Dizzle tha Grand Champion_

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: Another long chapter. Can I ever keep anything short and sleek these days?

**Chapter 26: Things are Coming Together.**

"The fusion of a cyborg and a machine mutant whose components, organic and otherwise, harmonize with each other perfectly, such as a cyborg Seventeen and a machine mutant Seventeen, would obviously result in an awesome conglomeration and multiplication of power the likes of which has probably never been seen before in the history of the universe," Washu stated, beginning her small science lesson as a screen appeared behind her showing silhouettes of the two Seventeens, one with yellow coding on the left side and the other next to it with yellow coding on the right.

"Um, excuse me?" a confused Mihoshi sounded off, after which everything stopped so that the GXP's (and the Masaki clan's) own version of the California dumb blonde could have the floor, however meaningless the statement for it may turn out to be. "Who are we talking about again?"

"Mihoshi, you idiot, they're talking about him!" Kiyone shot sharply in the blonde's direction as she pointed in the direction of the real Seventeen, who was actually standing beside Washu, on the side opposite from the screen with the silhouette models. As for Kiyone and Mihoshi? Well, once again, the utter denseness of her ditzy partner never ceasing to simultaneously amaze and shame her.

"Uh… who is he again?" Mihoshi asked once more, causing all of them to tumble down, crashing to the ground in disbelief, Washu and Seventeen included.

_And I thought Kakarot was a complete idiot,_ Vegeta and Raditz both thought simultaneously as they picked themselves up and sorted themselves out after suffering the total randomness that is Mihoshi's lack of sense.

"Eighteen's brother, Seventeen. The one with the new superpower type form," Washu answered in ridiculous boredom, before restoring her upbeat tone in trying to explain this again. "Now, let me try this again. You put a perfect match of cyborg and machine mutant together, their powers'll go hand in hand like the pieces to a puzzle, causing it to not only combine, but also to multiply like crazy." While she said this, the two Seventeen silhouettes on the screen closed together into one Seventeen with both bodies' coding appearing on this one. A notable point to the sight of this is that the one Seventeen did not change body type at all, and all the coding from both of the Seventeens being in this one form seems to be abit clustered together.

"The reason there's initially no outer change involved is because Seventeen put more into the fusion due to entering it in much better condition. However, that compact cyber-fitted human base form is not fit to, will not, and cannot possibly be able to use the full power accomplished by the code completion between the two Seventeens," the most brilliant mind in the Muyo universe explained, as the places where the cybernetic fittings were made into Seventeen were flashing into clarity on the body map that was the screen silhouette of Seventeen. The silhouette flashed in white a little, before morphing into a silhouette of the taller, more mature-looking form that Seventeen had just gotten through fighting Cell and Kagato in not too long ago. "Hence the result of whenever he wants to tap into that power being the taller, leaner, stronger, **Super** Seventeen; right now estimated to be possibly the single most powerful force in the universe."

"While we're giving explanations and science lessons," Eighteen interrupted as she walked into the room and up to Seventeen and Washu, "could you tell us why is it if he's fused with a clone, that he can switch between his true body and its result whenever he wants?"

"Why, even I could tell you that," Seventeen spoke up, putting a major smirk on his face as he saw that Eighteen. "See, the thing is, because it - right now I refuse to call that clone mutant me a he - wasn't in any condition to put the same amount of energy into the merger as I was, it didn't merge with me. It merged into me. So I've got control over the power that it gives me. I can either leave it in a kind of rest mode inside me and keep my normal body intact as you see or tap into that power and become Super Seventeen. Washu already explained all that, but what she forgot to say is that my artificial clone is not only the source of the Super Seventeen power, it also serves as its pocket. Which I can put it right back into when I'm done with the power and no longer need it or the Super form. Either way, I own." As this was not part of Washu's short planned explanation for Super Seventeen, the graphic did not change to accommodate what the raven-haired cyborg was saying at all. Despite this, the majority of the group, finally understanding the full fact of how the Super Seventeen merger works, could be heard moaning impressed.

_So he can become a completely new self and then turn right back to normal, just as if the physical change was as simple as a shift to Super Saiyan,_ Vegeta realized in astonishment, then in confidence, as evidenced by the smirk that suddenly overcame his face. The spoken word accompanying the new expression: "We need ultimate powers to defeat them. And this is our first one."

"I guess you have me to thank for that, don't you?" a certain familiar voice could be heard saying behind the Prince. He tuned around to find none other than that weird wizard priest that started this whole turn of events in the first place on a careless whim.

"Sorry, but I don't thank stalking freaks who cause a big giant mess," Vegeta retorted instead, his smirk growing even firmer and crueler as he saw the Madri Scholar jerk backwards in embarrassment. "But hey; if we survive this ordeal long enough to find a way to go into another realm, I might put in a good word for you."

"_If_ we survive?" the Scholar asked in confusion.

"Chances," Vegeta said, the point becoming clear to the Scholar through that one word. This was evident due to the restored calm in his posture, a sign that he understood and accorded.

"I'm heading over to the Other World. I've business to discuss with the Lord Kais," the Scholar then declared, suddenly disappearing. There wasn't even any kind of visual or sound effect to it: Vegeta simply saw that one moment he was there, the next he wasn't.

Meanwhile, on the sacred planet of the Supreme Kais, Kibitoshin and Rou Dai Kaioshin were looking carefully at the crystal ball once again, except it wasn't watching anything on the planet Earth, or on the dark planet of the Souja. Rather, this time it was scanning outer space, apparently looking out for something.

"Well? Have we found anything yet?" Tien asked while leaning against the big tree in their vicinity.

"No, not yet Tien," Kibitoshin informed him, gaze still intently kept on that ball. "But we haven't looked through much of outer space yet. There is still time to find it." Upon hearing that, Tien closed his eyes once again, the way in which he did so giving more of the impression that he was meditating as opposed to simply relaxing. Chiaotzu was out finding something to cook for food, which explains why the young emperor was not with Tien at the moment.

"Listen to me carefully, Tienshinhan," he suddenly heard from somewhere, apparently behind the tree. True to the fact that he was indeed meditating rather than going to sleep, Tien only calmly sounded off a "huh?" as he looked around the tree behind him to find the Madri Scholar.

"Oh, it's you, Madri Scholar. So, what's the new info?" Tien asked the wizard priest.

"I wouldn't say info as much as I would say an idea," the Scholar calmly corrected. "Let me ask you, what do you think about the idea of sending Other World warriors to attack the Emporium?"

"What?" Tien asked a little louder now, the surprise and some disagreement with the idea evident in his voice. "But how are you gonna convince Baba to…"

"Let me worry about that fortuneteller, when she comes running to me about the chaos," the Madri Scholar immediately replied, unfazed by the bass in Tien's questioning voice. "I'm not running this idea through her, because I won't actually be sending them to the living world. What I will really be doing is sending one of our enemies, alive and all, onto the Grand Kai's planet, where I will select five to do battle with the villain."

"And who do you have in mind? Are Krillin and Yamcha among them?" Tien inquired warily, wanting to know if they were really considering the plan.

"Well, last time they were there, Yamcha fought like a star. Without a life to abandon, he might be an even greater warrior than Pikkon," the Scholar replied, hinting especially towards a certain result despite no official confirmation in the statement. "I would've found a place for you on this team, but you are actually alive and more of a suspect risk. If you get completely destroyed rather than just killed, which can happen to you more easily since you are of the living, there's no guarantee you'll keep your body or even exist among the dead, consider where your death would've occurred."

"I don't care. If Krillin and Yamcha are gonna be put into this fight with their existence on the line," Tien solidly declared, causing the Scholar to be taken aback just a little bit, "then I don't want to just stand there and do nothing about it. It's about time I finally stepped in and took a part in this fight."

"I already have my army of five set. I'm sorry, but if you want to be a part of this fight, you'll have to find some other way," the wizard responded, making sure to let Tien know via his tone of voice that finding another way was exactly the open floor he wanted him to see. Understanding the underlying message, Tien nodded to the Scholar, before asking him a question.

"So, when are you gonna run this idea by the Kais?" Tien next asked, not bothering to tilt his head in the direction of the Supreme Kais overlooking outer space.

"I take it you know to be referring to the Lord Kais?" the Madri Scholar said, interpreting Tien's body language, or lack thereof. "We can go there right now. Being the gourmet cook that he is, Chiaotzu's search for food will probably take awhile, so the trip there and back shouldn't take long enough for him to be long back. As for the Supreme Kais," he continued, finally pointing to them, "we'll run it by them after we all get back here."

"Why is Seventeen staying in the lab? I thought he hated labs and experiments ever since Dr. Gero turned him into a cyborg," Eighteen asked questioningly, as she was standing in the living room of the Masaki house. Ayeka was sitting, and Ryoko leaning back, on opposite sides of the sofa.

"I don't know. Guess he must be explaining that to Washu as we speak," Ryoko guessed aimlessly, not really caring what Seventeen thought he had in mind. Knowing her mother's experimental tendencies all too well, she pitied the young cyborg, who obviously didn't know what he was getting himself into by staying in there with that crazy redhead. "Either way, we're gonna hear him get tortured by her gadgets and start begging for her to release him pretty soon. It's actually gonna be hilarious."

"It may be quite humorous to you the predicament he's in, but I personally take pity on him," Ayeka replied in wholehearted disagreement with the space pirate, partially for just that reason; the other part of her refusal to laugh at his misfortune at the moment was her remembering the moment they shared outside before he came into the house for the first time.

"Hey, I forgot to ask, what did happen between you two out there?" Ryoko asked, secretly smiling devilishly as the question formed.

"He proved himself a sympathetic gentleman," Ayeka proudly boasted, in Ryoko's internally spoken words, _as if she were talking about a guy she trained to be that way._ In immediate (mis)interpretation of what Ayeka meant or was implying by that statement, Eighteen slapped a hand on her forehead and exasperatedly pleaded for the princess to be kidding.

"No, and it's not what you think, Eighteen. Your brother promised that he would do everything in his power to rescue Sasami should he get a second chance," Ayeka replied, taking the other two by surprise and having their attention. She then stood up and came over to Eighteen, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's because he imagined you in Sasami's shoes that he truly feels the guilt over failing the first time, or the responsibility of atonement. You should be proud of how your brother cares for you."

"Thanks, but I think we all know at least ¾ of the time what he cares about more," Eighteen stated with a chuckle and a smile, both of which Ryoko shared in. Meanwhile, outside, while Tenchi was doing a little sweeping around the house, Goku, Vegeta, and Raditz were hovering over the waters in front of the house.

"So, guys; how about a little triple threat sparring session?" Goku then suggested to the other Saiyans, causing Vegeta to get a little riled up.

"Triple threat spar? Are you out of your mind, Kakarot!?" Vegeta yelled in immediate dislike of the idea. "You're more likely to destroy the house than to get any training out of that!"

"Ha! You're just afraid we'll both focus on attacking you," Raditz burst in suspicion, smirking at the foul-faced Prince as he did so.

"No, but now that you mention it, that's what I'd expect from two low-level clowns," Vegeta quickly countered, his typical tirade scowl on tight as he further protested Goku's plan. "Besides, I'm sure the Masakis would appreciate their latest addition and two friendly visitors blowing their house up, considering that blonde girl who's even more of an idiot than this dustbowl (points to Goku) almost gets the job done!"

"Did you just say you guys are about to spar all at once except you're _afraid_ of blowing the house up!?" a voice called to the Saiyans from outside. As the trio would find out when they looked down towards the house, it was Washu, who had apparently just begun walking out.

"Hey, Washu! It's your business if you want your house and all the alternate dimensions you want inside it blown to smithereens, but I won't have each and every fool inside here either dead or trying to kill me just because of it!" Vegeta shouted right back down at her as if she was an enemy, again putting up the position that he cares about the safety of the house. "Especially if it'll happen because of a couple of low-level clowns in the Saiyan hierarchy ganging up on their prince because they can't beat him fair and square!"

"Will you shut up!? Everybody here knows you care more about the latter than the former. It's your business if you want to let Raditz surpass you in power without even going Super Saiyan 2, but if you don't, wouldn't you be better off taking that double team beating and getting right back up?" Washu reminded Vegeta, as well as appealed to his pride, with a quick quip typical of the witty redhead genius. "If I got my Saiyan sciences correct, you guys have something in your blood that takes your power level every time you come near death and makes it a living representation of the expression that whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right!? So the person who takes the biggest beat down here should have the greatest increase in power! A lesson in humility that doesn't take your life actually benefits you further!"

"She's right! So it's basically either you win or you win, Vegeta. There's no need to start worrying about getting ganged up on," Goku stated to Vegeta in realization of the fact, prodding him on to accept his proposal of a triple threat spar.

"Ha! Fine, whatever. She is right. Bring it on, reject brothers!" Vegeta cockily dared Raditz and Goku, having now changed his tune after now remembering the "Seikan power" healing factor within his own blood. He then signaled with his hand towards himself for the two brothers to bring it, and they happily obliged, both coming after Vegeta, who rocketed up higher as they both lunged to hit him. Raditz' punch was a wild swing that, because there was air where Vegeta would've been, end up coming straight into Goku! Vegeta, being an opportunist here, took advantage with a diving kick to the stomach of Goku, sending him tumbling down towards the waters. Raditz saw his own opportunity and hurried towards Vegeta, who had just barely turned around before a hard right hand connected straight with his forehead and sent him flying away. Raditz then charged up ki within his hands and shot a continuous short barrage of energy waves the prince's way, causing Vegeta to suffer their damage as soon as he backed himself. Goku suddenly got up and appeared behind Raditz, following which the older brother turned around and ended up being victim to a furious combo of punches and kicks, quickly followed up with a leg lariat which knocked Raditz back a couple of touchdowns in the air. Suddenly, Vegeta and Raditz both came towards Goku, who quickly flew upwards even further to avoid the two of them. However, the two didn't lunge for an attack; seeing this development coming, they both turned around in opposite directions, and Vegeta clasped both of his hands together, and a familiar spark of purple ki began to form in his hands.

"Gallic Gun!" he shouted out, before lunging his arms in the direction of Goku, sending the powerful wave straight his way. Goku, in preparation, quickly charged up a Kamehameha wave in order to counter its power.

"Kaaaa… meeee… haaaa… meeee… HAAAA!" the destined champion screamed out, lunging his arms Vegeta's way in order for his Kamehameha to intercept the Gallic Gun. The problem with that idea was, Vegeta had charged a bit more power into his Gallic Gun due to Goku needing to blast quickly with his Kamehameha, so Vegeta ended up knocking Goku's wave back so that he was even closer to being hit, before Goku let out some more energy with a deafening roar and ended up taking it into even keel. Raditz, rather than standing there like an impressed fool, actually smirked, seeing a perfect opportunity to attack. He then charged up both of his hands with yellow ki energy, which he channeled further and further while Goku and Vegeta struggled to gain the upper hand on one another with this beam struggle of theirs.

"Double Kikouha!" he shouted, in the midst of all this, now focusing himself. Goku was gaining the upper hand in the beam struggle on Vegeta, until the Saiyan Prince, in utter refusal to be beaten in the same manner as he had been during his first fight with Goku, immediately released even more energy and made the struggle even. Tenchi and Washu were both watching this earth-shaking battle of ki waves, standing impressed at how powerful these Saiyans were even at their base strength. Washu was holding a remote control device with a white bright button, which she quickly pressed, generating a force field around the house. Tenchi noticed it and smiled at the super genius in thanks before getting back to watching the battle. However, no sooner did he re-fix his eyes in its direction than he saw Raditz finally thrust both arms forward at once and launch his Double Kikouha energy wave straight in the direction of Goku!

_Whoa!_ Tenchi thought as he watched on in utter shock. _I didn't even see Raditz preparing to blast him! But how did I miss that?_

Goku also finally noticed the Double Kikouha skyrocketing towards him and became distracted, which gave Vegeta's Gallic Gun a distinct opportunity to get an advantage in. However, in a quick show of masterful battle instinct, he used his Instantaneous Transmission ability in order to dodge the damage, as well as send both opponents' waves crashing right into each other, causing a huge explosion which temporarily blinded Tenchi and Washu with how much it illuminated the area. Once it finally cleared, there was a big puff smoke covering Goku, but it wasn't thick enough to completely cloud one's full sight of him.

"Looks like we're all closely fit if not even, aren't we?" Goku asked the other two Saiyans, his competitive voice kicking in as he exchanged smirks with the two of them.

"Seems like we are," Vegeta replied simply. "So, how about we go it another round? And this time, I want both of you foolish clowns to come at me."

"What?" Goku and Raditz both sounded off, stunned at the predicament Vegeta was daring them to place him into.

"But why would he ask them both to come after him?" Tenchi wondered aloud, the action not being very far away from him.

"I wonder, could he be trying to take a beat down from those two on purpose?" Washu also wondered aloud, her speculation catching Tenchi's attention and causing him to mouth off a shocked "What!?" of his own, prompting her to continue: "Remember, the healing Seikan factor in his Saiyan blood kicks in by not only allowing him to heal much faster and more efficiently than a human being, but also by adapting his body to make it less susceptible, and in most cases immune, to the threat that nearly causes it, which is most commonly a stronger fighting force. He could be trying to use their combined powers to give him enough of a beating that his Seikan kicks in _exceptionally_ well as a non-Super Saiyan, in the idea that his Super Saiyan states in themselves also grow exponentially in power."

"So, you're saying, that what doesn't kill a Saiyan actually does make him stronger, the increase depending on how close it comes to killing him?" Tenchi asked, receiving an "mm-hmm" and a chipper-mooded nod from Washu. "And Vegeta's counting on making Goku and Raditz do that to him so he can try to become much stronger than before?" he continued on, once again receiving a nod and "mm-hmm" for his efforts. His final question: "Is he really that insanely bent on becoming stronger!?" And _yet again_ Washu nodded an "mm-hmm"-ed him!

Meanwhile, Goku and Raditz were both staring intently at Vegeta, to which he thought; _Perfect. It's all going according to plan._ Sure enough, they did both come after Vegeta at once, but ended up both receiving a major swerve when he suddenly pushed them back by outstretching his body and exploding his energy in a huge sphere around him. The both of them ended up blown back all the way down into separate parts of the water, Raditz only a couple of feet in front of the ground that Tenchi and Washu were standing and observing the scene from. Even more shocking, while within this super explosive barrier, Vegeta transformed into a Super Saiyan, giving Washu yet another Vegeta-Briefs-related miscalculation to lament! Once the two brothers rose up to the surface once again, Raditz and Goku looked up to see the prince of their race in golden glowing glory.

_Using himself as the nexus to a huge explosion… I should've known he would try something like that!_ Raditz thought, berating himself somewhat while at the same time recognizing and remembering from what he knew of the prince when they used to work together in the Cold Military that Vegeta was a master tactician in battle.

"So, you want to go Super Saiyan, huh!?" Goku could be heard shouting above at Vegeta within seconds.

"Well, let me show you what that's about!" Raditz interjected, getting himself into the discussion just as well.

_Hah. Fools. Now they're both about to turn Super Saiyan, and then they'll try to double team me again,_ Vegeta thought expectantly as his smirk exuded more confidence now than at any previous point in this battle. Raditz and Goku both turned into Super Saiyans with ease, then Raditz flew up in the direction of Vegeta while Goku focused in with two fingers on his forehead. When Raditz was only a good 25 yards away from Vegeta, Goku teleported using Instant Transmission right behind the Prince. Vegeta suddenly came shocked, as one of Bardock's sons was behind him, the other in front of him, and both ready to give him Super Saiyan punches. But as soon as they went for the attack, he proved that that was only saving face in anticipation of their movements, leaving a Zanzoken after-image where both of them punched for, letting them hit each other right in the cheek. He then swooped down from above them to strike Goku down with a double axe handle to the back of the head, then to rear his right arm back while quickly charging ki into his hand.

"Maximum Flasher!" he screamed out, thrusting his arm forward and letting the fast yet powerful ray of energy strike Raditz. Goku, while plummeting down towards the waters, stopped himself and recovered his balance partly in mid-air (he was underwater up to his calves). Meanwhile, Raditz fell all the way in with a splash before quickly bursting upward in anger, and then stopping himself.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! I played you both into taking the exact course of action I was prepared for!" Vegeta boasted proudly, laughing in the mdst of this. "Now you both know that if we have the same power level, there's no way I can be beaten by either of you!"

"But… Vegeta…!" Washu barely was able to manage. "Why in the world would you… I thought you would…"

"Leave myself up on a silver platter because of my Saiyan healing factor!? Ha! You apparently don't know me very well!" Vegeta continued, this time directing his ego towards Washu while at the same time cutting her off and finishing her statement. In a deafening roar, he then transformed into a Super Saiyan 2. "I am the royal Prince of the Saiyan race! And had Vegetasei not been destroy before I was able to succeed my father at the throne, I would be the _King_ of all Saiyans! I have too much pride in my place among my people to throw a battle, even in preparation for the next, especially to third-class warriors like Raditz and Kakarot!"

"Hold on! Kakarot may have been a third-class warrior, but I was a near-elite!" Raditz shouted in objection.

"Near-elite?" Vegeta repeated questioningly, before bursting in laughter once again, which irritated Raditz. "You were obliterated by that weakling Namek Piccolo, not to mention your own nephew, your _four-year-old __completely untrained_ nephew, gave you significant damage! You call that even close to elite? I call that low-level clown!"

"Hold on a second, you egocentric prince! I just realized something!" Raditz cut off Vegeta's tirade right there, apparently trying to change the subject and receiving a hostile "What!?" from the prince before being able to do so. "Washu is out here with a shield over the house. That means either she's done with the cyborg or she's left him in that lab all by himself!"

"Good job, Raditz! I was waiting for somebody to figure it out!" Washu called out to Raditz in that cheery teacher-child-like manner typical of her eccentricity.

Over on the Grand Kai's planet, where the West and North Kaiosamas were meeting with their immediate superior outside his mansion once again, flanked by Pikkon, Olibu, Krillin, and Yamcha as usual, there suddenly appeared Tien and the Madri Scholar, teleporting right behind them in the soundless blink of an eye.

"I think I have a little plan in order, as far as dealing with this Emporium," the Madri Scholar stated, startling the Kais and catching the attention of their warriors.

"Hey, stalker freak, don't cha know not to come up on people like that!?" the Grand Kai immediately shouted in his shock once he turned towards the Scholar, before noticing the three-eyed Crane-trained warrior before him. "And, uh… who's he?"

"He would be Tien, another strong warrior I've trained before. He died bravely fighting for the planet Earth when Vegeta and Nappa came looking for the Dragon Balls so they could wish for immortality," North Kai informed the great one, telling the story with pride. "Like the others that died, he was wished back from that battle too, and he hasn't been killed since."

"That's because he spent all his time hiding like a coward, huh!?" West Kai taunted, intentionally mocking Tien to get on his northern counterpart's nerves, which successfully worked, as was hinted by the North Kai grabbing him up by the shirt.

"Tien is not a coward! He's never stopped stepping up to help with fights against villains who had him completely outclassed! He sacrificed himself to keep Cell from being complete even at the expense of his own life force! And he saved the Guardian of the Earth from the Majin entity Super Buu!" North Kai exclaimed while having West Kai in this precarious position, completely defeating the purple dwarf's purpose in showing his ego.

"Okay, okay! I get it! Now put me down!" a panicked West Kai exclaimed, after which North Kai finally did what he asked. They were all soon interrupted by the Madri Scholar clearing his throat.

"Stop arguing like a couple of idiot children and listen carefully," the Scholar finally continued. "I have a plan that might just work on one of the Emporium. How about, we force any one of _them_ to battle against five warriors of the dead?"

"Sounds interesting," the Grand Kai bemused, which actually surprised the dead fighters a little bit. "Go on…"

"Well, look what we have here. If it isn't the super-jinzo'ningen after all," Yugi was saying to Sakuya as they were walking over to Seventeen. He was currently left trapped and stranded in mid-air, stretched out and held in place by robotic arms just waiting for Washu to get back in here.

"I take it you're the ones that got the house all in a mess a ways back?" Seventeen asked upon noticing who was there.

"Don't remind me. I'm trying to be able to say that I've stepped beyond that," Yugi then told him, a touch of somberness entering her voice as she said this. Sakuya, understanding her feelings since she was borne of the chaos that Yugi fights daily to repent from inside, looked at her and also felt the pain of the memories a little.

"Trust me, I know the feeling," Seventeen stated in response, indeed understanding the art of repentance. He used to want to try to fight and kill Goku, as part of a game, because Sixteen's programmed mission to do just that was the only thing he had to do. But ever since fighting Cell, treating the world as one's playground began to have a more orderly and respectful tone to it for him, to say the least. For one, destroying someone when they're sick because some crazy old man never let you really think about doing anything else, didn't seem so appealing to him anymore. _But enough about that,_ he decided, opting to try and get to know these two a little bit better while he waited for the scientist kid.

"So, the infamous Kumashiro Kid. I wonder why Tenchi chose you, instead of one of the others," he next spoke, referring to her, rather than one of the alien super girls who had loyally stuck to Tenchi for a long time, becoming the part-Jurian's choice for love.

"And what does that mean?" Yugi lashed out, annoyed by Seventeen's comment as she took up for Sakuya.

"Is it supposed to mean anything? Can't I make a statement for the sake of wonder?" Seventeen asked - more like wondered aloud, at least for the sake of the pun - in his own defense, before a closet door suddenly appeared and opened, following which Washu came in through it and it disappeared. Upon entering the room, Washu immediately stepped in front of Yugi and Sakuya and stood to face Seventeen, smiling and with one hand placed on her hip. It was clear to her unlucky subject that she was planning on enjoying this. _But then again,_ his mind contended, _so am I._

"Well, Artificial Human Number Seventeen, shall we begin with the experiment?" the scientist asked, only receiving a chuckle and an open-mouthed smile from the black-haired Red Ribbon rebel. _Well, he seems cocky enough,_ was the thought that entered her head in response. _Time to give him the shock treatment and see what happens next!_

And with that, the chipper scientist snapped her fingers, and the robotic arms that held him in mid-air against his will were actually shooting electricity through them into Seventeen's entire body! Seeing him scream out in pain at the electric surge attacking him from the inside, Washu simply smiled in pleasure at her creative genius while Yugi and Sakuya - moreso the latter than the former - squirmed at the sight of the teenage-looking victim in his great pickle of a situation. Seventeen struggled to move free, his head turning every which way, trying to build enough power into his arms and legs so that he could break free of the restraints. But try as he might, he had absolutely no success at it. This took the attention of the girls inside the main living room of the house, which by now also included Kiyone and Mihoshi in addition to Ryoko's trio.

"What's happening over there? Is Washu making some kind of experiment?" Mihoshi asked, looking in the direction of the closet where the one-dimensional lab lay.

"Well, duh Mihoshi," Ryoko responded nonchalantly, springing up to her feet with little effort and walking over to the officer girls. "But allow me to let you in on a little secret."

"What is it?"

"The person she's experimenting on? He's Seventeen," Ryoko told her, speaking slyly into her ear in order to make Mihoshi think this was some huge secret.

"Oh, you mean Washu kidnapped some poor seventeen-year-old boy and decided to take him into her supposedly top secret lab and start seducing him for no good reason?" Mihoshi squealed out immediately once she figured she got it. Kiyone slapped a hand over her forehead while Ryoko and Ayeka crashed to the ground, agreeing on something for what seemed to be the first time in years as they were all rendered speechless at Mihoshi's ineptitude, both at keeping secrets (though this wasn't really one) and at gathering information correctly.

"No, you total klutz! She means the cyborg Seventeen, my twin brother, is in that lab getting experimented on and tortured by Washu's gadgets for her own comical enjoyment!" Eighteen shot at Mihoshi, not in anger due to the fact she had to yell out, but because Mihoshi's conception strayed so far from that fact that it was ridiculous and even upsetting to her pride.

"Whoa! What happened to you?" Kiyone and Mihoshi both asked, simultaneously quivering.

"What happened is Mihoshi needs to start getting the facts straight," Eighteen said sharply as she pointed to Mihoshi while facing (and evidently talking directly to) Kiyone. "Especially when it comes to my twin brother. Your friend here couldn't even figure out that Seventeen was a part of this. Is she really that dense?"

"Didn't you live here for a couple of days? You should already know that by now," Ryoko reminded her casually, which Eighteen responded to with an annoyed slap of the forehead.

"Oh my god, you're right," the exasperated blonde groaned as Mihoshi and Kiyone, having a moment, immediately shook off their momentary shock.

"Kiyone, let's go see what's happening over there!" Mihoshi then chirped enthusiastically, before dragging Kiyone against her will out of the living room in the direction of Washu's lab. Right when they got to the door, they saw Tenchi and his father Nobuyuki entering the house. After exchanging hellos, the ladies entered the closet and then entered the lab, immediately becoming a little shocked at what they saw.

"Washu, what are you doing to Seventeen!?" Kiyone instantly demanded, the sight of Seventeen squirming and struggling to break free of the robotic arms being a little much for her to handle in one instant.

"I'm experimenting on him a little bit. He said he was up for it, so I decided to torture him and see what happens," Washu responded casually as if there was nothing ethically wrong with what she was doing, even though in the eyes of many there obviously would be. But then, something happened out of nowhere. Seventeen stopped screaming in pain and actually snickered a little bit, before screaming out once more. The same bright golden light which had flashed and then fully radiated all over him back during the battle with Cell and Kagato at the Lookout came again, and the change in his body structure that resulted in the Super Jinzo'ningen Seventeen came right along with it. The light broke away from him into thousands of little fragments that caused many small explosions which actually damaged a bit of the fabric of Washu's dimension. (Outside, the Saiyans and Katsuhito, who was decided to walk down from the shrine a while ago, heard this commotion and it took their attention, so they decided to go check it out.) Upon seeing him in his new form, all the members were amazed, wide-eyed and open-jawed. And that even included Washu herself, though to a much lesser extent than the others.

Just then, Eighteen came into the room and saw the new body of Seventeen being hung up in the air by robotic arms. Having never seen his Super form before, she didn't completely recognize just who it was right away. While somewhat mesmerized at the strong-looking specimen Washu had here, she looked carefully at him and, upon seeing the golden Red Ribbon belt, knew he was linked to her somehow, and it was right there but she wasn't seeing it. Then she noticed two key things: the cut at the thigh/knee area of his jeans, and the orange foulard on his neck. And instantly, she remembered what her brother had told her before.

_When he came back today, he was talking to me about a Super form. I know that's it, that has to be it!_ Eighteen's mind screamed to her, before she actually screamed out his name. Upon hearing his sister's voice, he snickered a little as well, before Washu snapped her fingers again and the robotic arms went right back into electric mode, as that had been stopped by the mid-impact transformation that he somehow managed to make. He screamed out in pain once more, but this time it only actually lasted for about ten seconds, for the Super Jinzo'ningen was able to focus himself on something, and this time his scream was one that indicated some kind of charge or focusing of his power into something. Moments later, all the muscles in his entire body with the exception of his head - which means arms, legs, chest, and all - bulged up at such a fast, strong, and sudden rate that the robotic arms which had each wrapped themselves around him multiple times **all broke**, stunning everyone in the area even after his muscle size reverted to its usual in the very next moment. Now both Eighteen and Washu were gaping wide just like the other four that were in the room with them.

_You've gotta be kidding me! I'm the greatest scientific genius in the universe! The grip of these arms is supposed to be unbreakable! How could he do that!?_ Washu's mind went on, scrambling for an answer as to how that awesome feat of power was possible.

"He… he just ripped it apart like it was nothing," Eighteen stated, being in near-complete silence as she was barely able to utter the fact. No sooner did she say this than did the Saiyans come in, followed by every member of the Masaki household.

"He ripped what apart? Like what was nothing?" Vegeta instantly demanded, having overheard something.

"The… the robotic arms. Washu's unbreakable robotic arms," the still-stunned Kiyone responded, though obviously not completely believing it herself.

"Say what!?!?" Tenchi screamed out in representation of the shock of every person there except for Goku. Seventeen merely looked over and grinned at him, informing them all that he can absorb energy in this body. His voice told everyone who it was, which only made the moment better.

Meanwhile, as we head over to the Other World…

With the Kais watching to the side, Krillin, Yamcha, Pikkon, and the Greek legend warrior Olibu, were all standing side by side in front of Tien and the Madri Scholar. Standing with the four, however, was a militant-looking soldier in some kind of navy blue and green Saiyan-looking armor with a face that looked exactly like Goku except for a notable X-shaped scar on his left cheek. He also had a red headband on under his hair, as well as a green scouter over his left eye.

"So, you're Goku's father. Bardock, huh? I can see the resemblance," Tien said with a smile and a touch of respect.

"Thanks. I like to think I gave way to a very brave and powerful son," Bardock replied, accepting the compliment cordially. "Especially since I came here having a vision that Kakarot would face him. But, why do you call him Goku? His name's Kakarot."

"The original Son Gohan, the man who found him when he first got here and took him into his home as an adopted grandson, gave him the name of Son Goku," Krillin explained. "And that's what he's been known as by every non-Saiyan person ever since."

"But Vegeta and my other son still both call him Kakarot, right?" Bardock inquired sternly, hoping on all honor that his son's Saiyan heritage was not forgotten.

"Yep. No need to worry about that one, man," Krillin charismatically assured him. "But hey, I've got a question: what were you doing in limbo?"

"Well, for one, I was a Saiyan responsible for plundering hundreds of planets. But then, after Frieza killed all my comrades and I went into battle against his entire army, apparently I started growing in favor with King Yemma. But I hadn't grown enough to be granted a complete pass to heaven by the time I died, so when he saw me, he had me packed on a plane into limbo and took my body away for safekeeping rather than for good. Apparently he saw the chance I might be needed for something like this," Bardock explained, which Krillin understood despite it being a little long winded.

"And I saw fit to declare this just the right time," the Madri Scholar cut in, taking the group's attention. "Even though you can't go Super, you are an extremely powerful Saiyan with an honorable fighting spirit. Which makes you perfect for fighting the Emporium… or whichever member of it we decide to bring here. Now, shall the message be delivered to the others?"

"I can do it," the Northern King Kai chimed in, to which his smaller purple counterpart was slightly annoyed, before concentrating himself on finding the place where most of the others were. Once he finally sensed the Masaki house was the place fullest of allies…

"_Goku! Goku, can you hear me?"_ he called out to the group, addressing the most familiar member, though they all noticed his voice and looked up. The Masaki house residents didn't know who this was to recognize the voice, so they were a little wary.

"Huh? Who is that, Goku? Who's calling you?" Ayeka asked as the uncertainty started to make her get panicky.

"It's King Kai, one of the most important people in Other World. He's the one who taught me the Kaio-ken Fist and the Spirit Bomb," Goku turned around to inform her, relieving her nerves and to a lesser extent those of her housemates. "So, King Kai, what is it?" he then asked his second mystical teacher.

"_Listen, everyone. The Madri Scholar and Tien have assembled an army of five Other World warriors ready to go into combat with any of the Emporium,"_ King Kai went on to announce. _"The warriors, who we don't expect to kill the Emporium member so much as send a serious message that we are getting it together, who will represent the dead are Krillin, Yamcha, two great warriors Goku knows very well called Pikkon and Olibu, and a powerful and brave Saiyan warrior named Bardock."_

"Bardock!? But how!?" Raditz instantly screamed out, as if he had just heard the name of a long lost ghost.

"Wait, hold on a second. Who's Bardock?" Ryoko then asked her boyfriend, only to get ignored yet answered at the same time as he turned to Goku.

"Kakarot, if what you hear next goes in one ear and out the other, I will kill you for disgracing our entire family," Raditz warned his brother, sounding none too facetious. "Bardock is the first Saiyan who willingly and knowingly resisted Frieza to the very bitter end. When you were a baby, before you were sent to Earth, Bardock was an incredible warrior. Originally classed as a low-level Saiyan, he became extremely powerful to the point where Frieza feared the possibilities of what his power could become. When Bardock and his team plundered one more planet, one of those they destroyed gave him a gift of precognition, through which he saw the planet Vegeta-sei getting destroyed by Frieza. After that vision, and the attack from Frieza's henchmen that killed his team, he valiantly took up the fight to stop Frieza from betraying and ending our race. No one would believe him when he tried to forewarn them because he was low-level, but even so, he kept on himself. In the end, Frieza destroyed our planet using his Death Ball, killing Bardock in the process."

"Wait, he doesn't sound like someone that would be sent to hell. So if he's been dead on the opposite side from you all this time, and I haven't seen him anywhere when I was dead, how do you know all this about him?" a curious Goku asked.

"I know all this, little brother, because he was and is of great importance to me, and should be to you once you know this," Raditz answered, getting a little cryptic to prepare Goku for the final answer: "Kakarot; Bardock is our father."

"What!?" Goku's screamed out in complete shock. "He's our… father!? You mean to tell me that my father's been in heaven all this time and I didn't even know anything about him!?"

"Didn't you hear anything I told you when you came to fight Frieza on Planet Namek? I clearly remember informing you that he killed both of our fathers and destroyed our home planet!" Vegeta reminded him.

"Wait a minute, I do remember. In fact, I remember the three of you speaking to me, you and two men who I'm assuming are both of our fathers because each of them looked like one of us, in some strange kind of vision back during that very fight," Goku finally recalled. "But how come I never saw him in Other World?"

"_Because, Goku, he's only been put into heaven now. He was actually in limbo all this time,"_ King Kai replied, which could have but somehow didn't result in more questions than answers being produced. _"The point is, the battle happens in two days. So while we've still got the rest of today, actually tonight, and tomorrow, I'd like you all to try to inform the rest of your family and friends."_

_Just to be sure he did see what he says he saw,_ Vegeta thought as he analyzed the alleged vision of Goku, _I think I can afford to get a little skeptical, if only for a moment._ "Okay, Kakarot. How did they look? The two other than myself speaking in that vision you claim you saw when you were fighting Frieza? The ones that looked like us?" he then asked the Dragon Ball realm's resident heroic idiot.

"Well, the one that looked like you had a beard, the reddish brown in his hair was clearly visible, and I think he was wearing a Saiyan armor suit like your original one except with a cape. The one that looked like me had a clearly visible battle scar, and I think he wore a red headband along with his Saiyan battle outfit. It was more like our current rits, except dark and sleeveless. Other than that, they looked exactly like us," Goku replied, the memory coming into him even further as the Masaki residents listened in with increasing interest. "I think the three of you were telling me to destroy Frieza for the entire Saiyan race because I have the power within me."

"That's them," Raditz confirmed with a smirk, in clear and proud remembrance of the fact that Bardock and King Vegeta shared his and Prince Vegeta's pride in being Saiyan warriors. "Now, when exactly is this fight happening again?"

"_In two days,"_ King Kai answered. _"I've gotta get them all ready with a little training right now, though. Goodbye, everyone!"_ With that, and following everyone's return goodbyes, he stopped exerting his telepathic presence, and the entire house's current membership was able to take in the information that was just given to them into the rest of tonight…

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Madri Scholar: "Well, we still have to make a choice, as to which opponent the squadron of five is going to face. But that's a different story for another day. The most important thing is that you tell everyone."

-Goku: "Why is that the most important thing?"

-Madri Scholar: "We all have to know how the Emporium deals with this battle. It could be very vital to our mission."

-Vegeta: "So, basically we're using our dead warriors to do the same thing to the Emporium that they were using themselves to do to us?"

-Krillin: "I guess so, Vegeta. On the next chapter of _**Shift of Hearts**__**, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year**_, we only have one day to do one more thing before someone from the Emporium faces me and my team of five from the Other World. That one more thing is **Chapter 27: Choose and Prepare**."

-Washu: "Oh yeah, and thanks to a little information from my good friend the Super Jinzo'ningen, I think I can order a replacement for somebody on that team…"


End file.
